Ginny Weasley and the Deathly Hallows
by hp2.0
Summary: How would the events of DH have changed if Ginny travelled with the Golden Trio? This is an attempt at an alternate reality that stays mostly true to canon, yet with a different set of circumstances. HP/GW, RW/HG, please R&R
1. Chapter 1: A Change of Heart

Harry hurriedly finished his breakfast at the Burrow kitchen table, hoping to get outside to help Ron and Mr. Weasley construct the tent as soon as possible. He was making an effort to avoid Bill and Fleur as he helped with their wedding preparations. Harry was wracked with guilt over Mad-Eye's death, and wanted to avoid hearing any further details about what had happened that awful night. He felt guilty because not only had Mad-Eye died protecting Harry, Mundungus' panicked flight had left Mad-Eye completely alone as he was attacked by Voldemort and half a dozen Death Eaters.

It occurred to Harry that, while he was often present at the deaths of his close friends, rarely had he been able to act in their defense in the critical moments. Cedric had been struck down before Harry could even react. In the Department of Mysteries, Harry had been busy helping Neville when Bellatrix killed Sirius. And just a few weeks earlier, Harry had been unable to do anything, paralyzed by Dumbledore's Body-Bind Curse, as his confidante and mentor was murdered by Severus Snape in the Astronomy Tower.

All these thoughts tempted Harry to yell in frustration, but he stopped himself when he saw Mrs. Weasley hurriedly helping Ginny prepare food for the wedding. Harry's stomach lurched whenever he saw Ginny these days. He had found it difficult to talk to her since he'd broken up with her at Dumbledore's funeral, and Harry sensed that Ginny thought he was being overprotective. Harry had no doubt that Ginny could protect herself; during D.A. meetings, Ginny's mastery of the defensive spells Harry taught had been surpassed only by Hermione's. But Harry refused to allow Ginny be yet another casualty of Voldemort's endless quest to get to Harry. He knew that if Ginny were killed because of him, that would be a blow he would not be able to recover from.

But as Mad-Eye popped back into Harry's mind, another sickening thought occurred to him. _What if Ginny was killed while Harry was gone hunting Horcruxes?_ Harry hadn't yet given much thought to exactly where the remaining Horcruxes were located, but the remote location of the cave that protected the fake locket made it possible that the other Horcruxes were many miles away from where he sat in Ottery St. Catchpole, perhaps even outside Britain. The possibility of Ginny battling Death Eaters while he was off on this secret mission suddenly struck Harry as unbearable. Perhaps he had been unable to save Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, and Moody, but Harry resolved to himself that Ginny would not meet this same fate.

As Harry watched Ginny place a charm onto an eight-foot tall wedding cake, in his mind there was no alternative: Ginny would have to hunt Horcruxes with him.


	2. Chapter 2: Hermione's Worry

_Author's note: Chapter 1 is very short, beginning immediately after the events of Chapter 5 of DH, simply to set the scene. I hope to update very frequently, but have not yet decided whether to add short chapters every couple of days, or to write long chapters and post less frequently. I guess we'll find out together!_

As Harry went about the various tasks Mrs. Weasley asked of him that morning, he didn't get the chance to talk privately with Ginny, Ron, or Hermione. After the tent had been constructed, Ron had gone with Mr. Weasley and his brothers to Diagon Alley to rent dress robes. Hermione seemed to have made it her personal mission to help Mrs. Weasley, who was moving throughout the property like a mad-woman preparing for the big day. And Ginny, much to her dismay, had been assigned the task of helping Fleur as she ran her wedding errands. Harry had to work hard to suppress a grin as he watched Ginny roll her eyes behind Fleur's back as she and her sister argued about seating arrangements for the wedding reception.

But luckily for Harry, he had no shortage of visitors to talk to. Kingsley had returned to the Burrow around lunchtime to tell the Weasleys that, despite his best efforts, Mad-Eye's body could not be found. As he walked toward the Apparition point, however, he took Harry aside.

"Harry, I've been meaning to talk to you about the security conditions at Hogwarts for this upcoming year…"

Harry interrupted him, "Kingsley, I'd rather you didn't mention it to anyone, but I'm not going back to Hogwarts."

Kingsley's eyes widened in surprise. "Harry, you must understand that Hogwarts is probably the safest place for you to be, given the current situation," he whispered urgently.

Harry glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one (particularly Mrs. Weasley) was nearby. "I understand that, Kingsley, but Professor Dumbledore gave me a job to do, and I think it's best that I get started immediately…"

Kingsley stared at Harry intently. "What job would Dumbledore give to you, without telling the Order? Perhaps, given his death, you should speak at the Order's next meeting, and we can all decide on a plan of action?"

"No," Harry whispered even more quietly, "Dumbledore said that no one but Ron, Hermione, and I can know."

Harry could tell that Kingsley was skeptical, but he looked back at the Burrow, where Mrs. Weasley was half-walking, half-running to the chicken coop with Hermione a step behind her, and he patted Harry on the back. "All right, Harry, if that's what Dumbledore wanted, then I'm with you every step of the way. But promise that you'll ask me for help if you ever need it."

"I promise," Harry said, grinning, "Thanks Kingsley."

Kingsley shook Harry's hand, then walked a few paces outside the Burrow's boundaries and Disapparated. As Harry watched him go, he felt an immediate twinge of guilt at what he'd just said. _Only Ron, Hermione, and I can know_. If Dumbledore had wanted Ginny to know about the Horcruxes, surely he would have told Harry that it was okay to tell her. Surely, indeed, it was better that as few people knew about the mission as possible.

But just at that moment, Tonks also walked out of the Burrow, and Harry could tell that she was barely holding it together. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was unkempt, and she barely managed her usual smile as she walked past Harry. He knew that she had perhaps been as close to Mad-Eye as anyone in the Order, that she worked with him in the Auror Office and that he'd been something of a mentor to her. And seeing this, Harry realized that what was most important was that Voldemort was defeated, not that he was defeated in exactly the way Dumbledore had envisioned it. Harry knew that if he failed to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, the chances that Voldemort would be defeated were almost hopeless. And since Dumbledore was gone, Harry was going to have to make many important decisions on his own. As Harry saw Ginny sneaking out of the wedding tent, trying to escape Fleur's obsessing, Harry realized that his best chance of keeping his head, and of being able to think clearly about the massive obstacles that were sure to lie ahead, was with Ginny by his side.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

Harry jumped with a start. He'd been Transfiguring leaves on the apple trees in the orchard in order to make them look perfect for the wedding pictures. But lost in thought, he'd Transfigured leaves on the same tree over and over again, so that there were so many apples on it that it was leaning almost a foot toward him. Hermione, who had come over to Harry holding a sandwich, giggled as she undid the damage."

"Sorry Hermione, I wasn't paying attention."

"Well, you'd better fix it before Mrs. Weasley sees, she just freaked out on Ginny in the kitchen," Hermione whispered darkly.

"Hermione, I want Ginny to come with us as we hunt Horcruxes," said Harry.

Hermione gasped. "Harry, have you thought this through?"

"What do you mean?" Harry said defensively.

"Did you talk to Ron about this?" she whispered earnestly.

"No…"

"Well, you should. Ginny might be your girlfriend but she's Ron's sister."

"Hermione, Ginny isn't my girlfriend anymore. Besides, Ron can't control whether Ginny is allowed to come with us, she can make her own decisions," said Harry indignantly.

"That's true Harry, but if you want don't want Ron to be furious with you from the very beginning, it might be nice if it at least _seemed_ like you considered his thoughts on the matter."

"I did consider them!" Harry shot back, but he quickly lowered his voice as he remembered that Mrs. Weasley might be lurking nearby. "But do you think he would really mind?"

"I don't know," Hermione whispered, "but he's her brother and she's underage, he might not be thrilled with the idea."

"Well what do you think, Hermione?" Harry added.

Hermione lowered her wand from the trees and turned to face him. "I think it's a great idea, Harry."

"Really?" Harry smiled. He'd been expecting Hermione to disagree, given her obsessive focus on schoolwork.

"Yes Harry, I think it's best. Ginny is more intelligent than anybody gives her credit for, and besides, if Hogwarts falls under Voldemort's control, it wouldn't be long before he thought to interrogate Ginny about your whereabouts."

"Yes exactly!" said Harry, relieved that Hermione agreed with him. "I don't want Ginny to suffer because of me, but at the same time I don't think I'll be able to focus properly if I'm constantly thinking about her."

Hermione frowned. "Well, I still think you should talk to Ron. At least, that is, if you want him not to be a whiny miserable wretch for the next few weeks."

"Something wrong?" said Harry, grinning as he finished his sandwich.

"No," said Hermione sadly, "I just can't wait for this wedding to be over."

Harry had to agree. Between Mrs. Weasley's anxiety, Ron's aggravation with her, and everything else that had been going on between Mad-Eye's death and the upcoming wedding, it hadn't been a very cheerful couple of days. "We'd better get back to work before Mrs. Weasley sees us," he muttered.

All in all, by the time darkness crept over the Burrow that evening, a lot had been accomplished. Fleur and Ginny had finished decorating the tent and were just putting the final touches on Fleur's dress when Mrs. Weasley called everyone in for dinner. Hermione and Mrs. Weasley had finished most of the food for the reception, and also had prepared the Burrow for the amount of guests who would be arriving the following evening. And the Weasley men had successfully returned from Diagon Alley, Ron looking only slightly disgruntled as he sat down next to Harry in the kitchen.

"Long day?" said Harry, grinning.

"You have no idea," Ron muttered. "Dad got into an hour-long discussion with Madam Malkin about Muggle wedding clothes, and Bill freaked out on Fred and George when he caught them swapping his hat for one of the Headless Hats from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. But at least these dress robes don't make me look like I was born in the 16th century…"

Harry laughed as he accepted a plate from Mrs. Weasley. But as Harry noticed Hermione looking at them from across the room, he realized that Ron might not be as good-humored the next time Harry talked to him.


	3. Chapter 3: A Missed Opportunity

_Author's note: To avoid repeating a bunch of canon, I'm going to skip over some parts of DH that I'm not changing. I'll repeat everything that's necessary to the story, and other things that are useful to mention, but feel free to assume that other minor details from DH are also true in this story, so long as nothing I've written suggests otherwise. Up to this point, everything that happened through the early chapters of DH is completely canon, minus anything I've changed in the first two chapters (not too much)._

 _P.S. If anyone has any ideas that they'd like to become part of the story, feel free to DM them to me. I have a general idea of where I want this story to go, but I'm always open to suggestions, and who knows, I might just like your idea better than mine._

Harry awoke on the morning of his 17th birthday to a loud greeting from Ron and a wrapped present thrown into his lap. As he opened it, he saw that it was a book titled _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches_. Ron seemed particularly proud of this gift, but as Harry looked at the book, he felt uneasy, since the only girl he really considered "charming" was Ron's own sister. However, Ron did not seem to consider this possibility as he chatted happily while getting changed for breakfast. Harry felt reluctant to dampen Ron's mood, but decided that he'd better speak now before they were surrounded by too many potential eavesdroppers.

"Ron… I have an idea that I want to run past you."

"Is it a thirteenth way to charm witches?" Ron sniggered.

Harry laughed uneasily. "No, no, it's just… I want Ginny to come with us when we hunt Horcruxes."

Ron stopped cold in the middle of buttoning his shirt. "You… you want _Ginny_ to come?"

"Yes I do… but only if you're okay with it!" Harry added quickly.

"Well, to be honest Harry, I don't think you've really thought this through."

"You don't?"

Ron hesitated. "No. For one thing, even though you've just gotten the Trace off of you, it won't be off Ginny for over a year."

"That's true," Harry responded quickly. "but I actually thought of that. I don't think our magic will activate the Trace, at least so long as Ginny doesn't perform magic without one of us around. When I was with Dumbledore in the cave, for instance, we used a ton of magic, and I never heard about that from the Ministry. And the Ministry didn't even detect all of the underage magic we performed in the Department of Mysteries, at least not through the Trace. I think that the Trace only detects magic performed by underage wizards when they are near Muggles, or at most underage magic when there is no witch or wizard of age nearby."

"Right," Ron stammered, "but do you really think that it's safe for Ginny to be with us? I mean, do you think she would be able to hold her own?"

"Come on Ron," Harry blurted out, trying not to get angry. "You saw in the Department of Mysteries, in the D.A. meetings, and even in the Astronomy Tower last year, Ginny is more than talented enough to stand her ground."

Ron was starting to look desperate. "But what about her education? Shouldn't she go back to Hogwarts and start her N.E.W.T classes?"

Harry had to suppress a laugh at this argument. "I mean, by that logic, shouldn't _we_ go back to Hogwarts this fall?"

"No… of course not… got more important things to do."

"Right!" Harry said enthusiastically.

"Still, Harry, I don't think it's a good idea," said Ron as he turned away, returning to his shirt.

"Ron… if something's bothering you, please tell me," Harry said delicately.

Ron looked back at Harry uneasily, "It's just… when you and Ginny broke up last year, obviously it broke her heart, but I was happy, because it meant that she was protected. She was no longer dating 'The Chosen One'. But if she comes with us… if it becomes clear to the Death Eaters that not only is she helping you, but that your relationship is serious… I think it would only be a matter of time before You-Know-Who starts to focus on my family."

Harry's heart sank. He hadn't really considered this possibility, at least not beyond the possibility of Ginny herself being targeted. But Harry still wasn't convinced, and at least now he understood where Ron was coming from.

"Thank you for telling me, Ron. But to be honest, I really don't believe this will change things as much as you think. I mean after all, Voldemort already knows that your parents are in the Order, I don't see how much more he can target them than he already has. Even if just the three of us leave, Voldemort's bound to suspect that your family knows where I am and is assisting me. And I'd be really surprised if Malfoy or someone else hasn't already told the Death Eaters about Ginny and I dating last year."

Ron said nothing, he simply nodded.

Harry seized his opportunity, "I really think that Ginny would be in the most danger by returning to Hogwarts, because there would be basically nobody there to protect her if and when Voldemort seizes control. We might as well have her with us, not only so we can protect her, but also so that _she_ can help _us_."

There was a moment of silence while the two just sat together, thinking silently.

"I mean, it's not like we've got everything figured out," Harry added sheepishly.

"You're right," said Ron. "Okay, I agree. But on one condition. I don't want you to pressure her to come, Harry…"

"Of course not!"

"… if she says no, then that's that, it will just be the three of us…."

"I couldn't agree more, Ron!"

"All right then." said Ron, and Harry could tell that he was feeling better about the idea. "Thanks for talking to me about this, Harry."

Harry grasped Ron's hand and pulled him into a hug. "You don't have to worry Ron, that's Hermione's job."

Ron laughed and the two of them headed downstairs, as Harry's mind turned to breakfast.

Throughout the rest of the morning, Mrs. Weasley tried to keep Harry from doing too much work on his birthday, despite looking absolutely exhausted herself. She compensated for this by redoubling her efforts to badger her children for help. While she was scolding Ron for not immediately rushing outside to help Fred and George cleaning out the garden, Harry decided to try and steal a minute with Ginny to talk about the mission. But she found him first.

"Harry… would you mind coming up to my room and helping me with something?" she asked timidly.

"Oh… yes!" said Harry enthusiastically, and he quickly stowed away the copy of _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches_ he was carrying and followed Ginny upstairs.

Once they arrived in her room, Ginny closed the door and stood still for a moment, clearly listening to see if anyone had followed them upstairs. Then she turned around and said "Happy seventeenth, Harry."

"Thanks Ginny," said Harry, smiling. "I've been meaning to…"

"I couldn't think what to get you," she said.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I didn't know what would be useful. Nothing too big, because you wouldn't be able to take it with you."

She took a step closer to him.

"So then I thought, I'd like you to have something to remember me by…"

"Ginny, I've been meaning to talk to you about that…"

And suddenly Ginny kissed him as she'd never kissed him before, and Harry was kissing her back, when suddenly the door burst open behind them and they jumped apart.

"Oh," said Hermione, clearly embarrassed, "I'm sorry. It's just… Mrs. Weasley is looking for Ginny, she needs help showing the Delacours up to their room."

Ginny let out a huge sigh and walked briskly out of the room. As soon as she was out of sight, Harry shot a dirty look at Hermione, who looked truly sorry for having interrupted.

"I… I heard you talked to Ron," she stammered, "thank you for doing that."

"Don't mention it," said Harry curtly. "I was just about to talk to Ginny about it before you interrupted."

"It didn't look like you two were doing much talking," said Hermione teasingly.

"Shut up, Hermione," said Harry, although he couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you'll get another opportunity soon enough." said Hermione hopefully, as the two of them walked back downstairs.

As it turned out, Harry didn't get another opportunity until after the wedding.


	4. Chapter 4: Hasty Decision-making

Harry sat on a golden chair at a white-clothed table, trying to ignore Ron's furtive glances at Viktor Krum as he finished his champagne. He had just had a rather unnerving conversation with Elphias Doge and Ron's Auntie Muriel about Dumbledore, about Rita Skeeter, Bathilda Bagshot, and Godric's Hollow, and he was failing in his attempt not to think about it. _How well had he really known Dumbledore?_ Of course, Harry knew all too well of Rita Skeeter's treachery, yet the sunny, happy version of Dumbledore's life that Doge had been selling suddenly seemed hollow. Luckily, at this moment Hermione and Ginny returned to their table from the dance floor, and Ron seemed happy to notice that Krum was having a heated discussion with Xenophilius Lovegood. Harry decided that if he was going to invite Ginny onto this mission, it was now or never.

"Ginny, can we talk to you for a second?"

Ron snapped his head around to look at his sister, and Hermione's expression became suddenly serious. Harry, however, had eyes only for Ginny.

"Sure Harry, what's going on?"

"Well, we've been meaning to tell you for a few days now, but we're going to be leaving The Burrow in a day or two."

Ginny's eyes widened in shock. " _A day or two!_ Merlin's beard, Harry, I thought that you'd be around at least until I left for Hogwarts!"

Harry looked at Hermione, and knew that she was thinking very quickly. After a moment she said, "Ginny, we really don't have any time to waste, Dumbledore's given us a job to do…"

Ginny looked anxious, and turned toward Hermione. "But Hermione, we've had hardly any time to spend together…" she said, shooting another glance at Harry.

Hermione looked around cautiously. "That's why we want to talk to you now… We've been talking, and we want to know if you'd like to come with us."

Ginny's jaw dropped. "You want _me_ to come?" And then she turned toward Harry again and grinned. "Of course I will! Oh, Harry, I'm so glad, I've been so worried that… well… that this might be the last time I'd see you before…"

Ginny's voice trailed off, and she had a frightened look on her face. Harry, however, couldn't help but smile at her, delighted that she had agreed to come. On the other hand, Ron, who had held his tongue throughout this conversation, finally spoke up.

"Ginny, are you really sure you want to come with us? I mean, you're not going to be able to go back to Hogwarts, and it's going to be _really_ dangerous…"

Ginny shot an angry look at him. "Don't you think I know that, Ronald?"

Harry could see, however, that Ron was getting angrier with every glance that Ginny shot at Harry.

"Ginny, I've been thinking about this, and I don't think you should come with us," said Ron quietly.

"Why not?" Ginny fired back. "Harry and Hermione seem to think it's a good idea!"

"Yeah, well, I don't!" Ron exclaimed, to Harry's surprise. "I think you should go back to Hogwarts! What would Mum think if you didn't go back to school, she hasn't even accepted the fact that _I'm_ not going…"

Ginny was seething, breathing quickly, almost as though she was struggling to hold her tongue as she stared daggers at her brother. She had an uncanny resemblance to her mother when she was upset like this. Harry sat uncomfortably between them, of course hoping for Ginny to come with them, but at the same time not wanting to antagonize his best mate. It was Hermione, however, who spoke up.

"You know, Harry, I think Ron's right… we should at least talk to Mrs. Weasley about this first."

"Hermione," Harry began, rounding on her, "you know as well as I do that Mrs. Weasley is never going to say yes."

Hermione eyed Ron, obviously trying not to upset him, "Yeah, well, we can't just up and leave without telling _somebody_ that we're going…"

Just at that moment, Hagrid let out a loud laugh at the next table, where he was sitting and drinking with Mr. Weasley and Monsieur Delacour. This gave Harry an idea.

"You know what, Ron, why don't we just tell your Dad what our plan is, and see what he thinks? He'll be a bit more open-minded than your Mom, but at the same time still has Ginny's best interests at heart."

Ron did not look satisfied with this suggestion, yet he seemed to have no ready response to it. But just at that moment, the attention of all four of them was drawn to something large and silver that came falling through the canopy over the dance floor. Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the astonished dancers. Heads turned, as those nearest it froze absurdly in mid-dance. Then the Patronus's mouth opened wide and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

" _The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming._ "

Chaos reigned. Harry and Hermione immediately stood up, first looking at each other, and then at Ron and Ginny. Ron seemed to be struggling with indecision, while Ginny simply looked shocked. Meanwhile, the other guests at the party were scrambling in every direction, including Mr. Weasley, who was running across the dancefloor calling for his wife. Harry turned to Ginny and gave her a look, through which he tried to communicate: _Well… it's up to you_.

Ginny didn't hesitate. She immediately stood up, rushed around the table to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were now standing, and shouted, "I'm coming!"

Hermione nodded and grabbed her shoes and her beaded handbag. Harry embraced Ginny, then looked around to make sure that there were no Death Eaters nearby before taking Hermione's arm in one hand and Ginny's in the other. Ron, meanwhile, still looked uneasy, and was peering through the crowd at his tearful mother.

" _Ron!_ " Hermione cried. "We've got to go!"

"But… but what about Dad?" said Ron, now becoming a bit frantic himself.

"There's no time!" Harry shouted back quickly. "Let's go!"

Ron still looked apprehensive, but a loud bang from outside the tent told them that Death Eaters might have arrived. Hermione look tensely at Ron, and he quickly grabbed Ginny and Hermione too. Hermione turn on the spot; sight and sound were extinguished as darkness pressed in upon them; all Harry could feel were Hermione and Ginny as they were squeezed through space and time together, away from the Burrow, away from the descending Death Eaters, away, perhaps, from Voldemort himself.


	5. Chapter 5: Early Misgivings

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sat in the drawing room of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, still reeling from their fight with the Death Eaters on Tottenham Court Road, as well as their encounter with the dust-composed form of Dumbledore at the front door. They were relieved, however, when a silver Patronus soared through the room, and Arthur Weasley's voice emanated from it.

" _We saw Ron and Ginny leave with you. Rest of family safe. Do not reply, we are being watched._ "

Harry let out a sigh of relief. Obviously, they hadn't had the chance to tell anyone else in the Weasley family that Ginny would be going with them, and Harry knew that now that the Ministry had fallen, it would be difficult to contact anyone without the message being intercepted by Death Eaters.

While Hermione had astutely packed much of what they needed for this journey prior to the wedding, she unfortunately hadn't thought to pack any of Ginny's things. Other than her wedding attire, Ginny only had her wand with her at the time of Kingsley's warning. She reluctantly agreed to wear Hermione's spare clothes for the time being, and to borrow everything else from what was stowed in Hermione's handbag. This wasn't an ideal solution though, as Ginny was a few inches shorter than Hermione, and the clothes didn't fit particularly well. This was a minor problem, however, compared to what they noticed next.

"Blimey Harry, look outside!" Ron exclaimed.

As Harry reached the window, he let out an audible groan. There were no less than half a dozen people wearing long, dark cloaks, strolling back and forth on the street outside. Worse still, Harry noticed that one of the shortest in the group had a glowing, silver right hand.

"That's Wormtail," said Harry miserably. "How do the Death Eaters keep finding us?"

"I don't know!" Hermione whispered, clearly worried.

"D'you reckon Snape told them about this place after all?" said Ginny.

"Or do you think they tracked us because of the Trace on Ginny?" muttered Ron irritably.

Harry looked at Hermione, and he could tell that this is exactly what she thought was the problem. He said nothing, however. It was obvious that Ron was still uneasy about Ginny being with them, and Harry didn't want Ron's exasperation to escalate into an all-out row.

"I don't know," Harry whispered, "but they don't seem to be getting any closer."

The four of them watched breathlessly out the window for the next half an hour, but the Death Eaters showed no sign of approaching the door. Finally, the four of them decided that it was safe for at least three of them to get some sleep, while they took turns as lookout. Harry volunteered to take first watch, but while Ginny was upstairs changing into a pair of Hermione's pajamas, he could hear Ron and Hermione whispering urgently in the room above him.

"She shouldn't be here, it's not safe and she's jeopardizing the mission…"

"I know, Ron, but there's nothing we can do…"

"We can take her back!"

"Are you mad? Death Eaters would swarm to us within seconds…"

"Well we've got to do something!"

"I know, I know, but what about Harry?"

"What about him?"

"He won't be happy if we just ditch his girlfriend!"

"Well, what choice do we have?"

"I don't know, but let's think about it for a while…"

Harry's heart sank. Not only was Ron against the idea, but it sounded like Hermione had turned against it too. It hadn't yet been two days since he seemed to have both of them on board, and now they had already changed their minds. However, while Ron's bitterness seemed genuine to Harry, he believed that Hermione was just placating her boyfriend. Nevertheless, Harry desperately wished to avoid an open confrontation, because he wasn't sure that Hermione would stick to her guns at the expense of her relationship with Ron.

To make matters worse, Harry's scar was pounding, so much so that when Ginny came back into the room and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek, he struggled to smile back at her.

"Any change out there?" she whispered.

"No," said Harry, "I don't think they can even see it. The Fidelius Charm must still be working."

"Why wouldn't Snape have told them?"

"I dunno," Harry muttered, "maybe Mad-Eye's protections worked after all."

All of a sudden, Harry fell to the floor, grasping his pounding head. In an explosion of agony, he felt the rage that did not belong to him possess his soul, saw a long room lit only by firelight. The great blond Death Eater was on the floor, screaming and writhing, and a slighter figure was standing over him, wand outstretched, while Harry spoke in a high, cold, merciless voice.

"More, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is not sure that he will forgive this time… You called me back for this, to tell me that Harry Potter has escaped again? Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure... Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!"

A log fell in the fire: Flames reared, their light darting across a terrified, pointed white face — and with a sense of emerging from deep water, Harry drew heaving breaths and opened his eyes.

"Harry … _Harry_ … are you okay?" said Ginny urgently.

"Yes… keep your voice down," said Harry quickly. He could already hear Hermione's reproach in his mind: _Dumbledore told you to close your mind!_ Luckily, neither Ron nor Hermione were in the room, or seemed to have heard anything.

"All right, all right, what happened?" Ginny whispered, still looking very worried.

"He's angry, very angry," Harry breathed, "angry that I escaped."

"Did you see him?"

"Yes, he's forcing Malfoy to torture a Death Eater as punishment."

Ginny looked horrorstruck, but took Harry into her arms and held him tightly. "I thought you didn't see into Voldemort's mind anymore?"

"I didn't for a while," Harry muttered, "but don't tell Ron or Hermione that it happened again."

"All right, I won't," Ginny responded, but she still looked concerned. "Harry, do you want me to take first watch instead? You look exhausted…"

"No, I'm fine," Harry lied, "you get some rest, you're going to have to wake up in a few hours."

Just then, Ron and Hermione walked in and saw the two of them holding each other.

"Is everything okay?" said Hermione, while Ron just shot Harry an angry look.

"Fine," Harry repeated, "nothing's changed out there, you lot should get some sleep. I'll wake you in three hours, Ron?"

"That's fine," Ron muttered unhappily, "come on, Hermione."

The two of them went back upstairs, but Ginny decided to lay on the sofa next to Harry. When she finally fell asleep, Harry looked over at her and decided that, whatever difficulties it might present, he was still glad that she had come with them. If Ron and Hermione were against it, well, they'd just have to hear about it from him first.


	6. Chapter 6: A Flood of Information

The next couple of days were relatively uneventful at Grimmauld Place. One of the four were assigned as lookout at all times; however, the Death Eaters made no further moves toward Grimmauld Place. The consensus among them seemed to be that the Death Eaters had tracked them to Tottenham Road, and later to Grimmauld Place, because of the Trace on Ginny when they Apparated. Luckily, it seemed that the Fidelius Charm was keeping the Death Eaters from getting any closer.

Nevertheless, Hermione had convinced Harry and Ginny that certain ground rules needed to be established. Ginny was not to perform any magic except during emergencies, and she was also to not be in the same room as Harry, Ron, or Hermione while _they_ were performing magic, unless absolutely necessary. Ginny, who hated being left on the sidelines for anything, accepted these terms a bit resentfully, but Harry was glad that an apparent truce had been reached between her and Ron.

Harry spent much of his free time between lookouts wandering through the house. He'd found a letter written to Sirius from his mother Lily, which choked him up a bit, but not nearly as much for him as it had Hermione, and even Ginny shed a tear or two. On a happier note, Harry felt reasonably confident that Sirius's brother Regulus was the R.A.B. who had taken the real locket Horcrux, after he discovered his middle name was "Arcturus".

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed, "Hermione! Ginny! I think I've found R.A.B.!"

Ron and Hermione came stumbling up the stairs, but since Ginny was taking her turn as lookout, she merely yelled "What are you talking about Harry?"

All of a sudden, it dawned on Harry just how infrequently Ginny had been with him, Ron, and Hermione during their various adventures over the years, and how little she knew about the mission. However, Harry was too excited to have that conversation at this moment. He, Ron, and Hermione searched Regulus's room for the locket; however, the three of them could not find a locket anywhere. Then, Hermione suddenly gasped, and reminded everyone of the locket that they had encountered while cleaning Grimmauld Place with the rest of the Order two years earlier, and Harry decided to summon Kreacher to ask him if he knew anything about its whereabouts.

" _Kreacher!_ "

There was a loud crack and the house-elf that Harry had so reluctantly inherited from Sirius appeared out of nowhere in front of them.

"Master," croaked Kreacher in his bullfrog's voice, and he bowed low, muttering to his knees, "back in my Mistress's old house with the Weasley blood-traitor and the Mudblood…"

"I forbid you to call anyone 'blood traitor' or 'Mudblood,'" growled Harry.

"Yes, Master," said Kreacher, bowing low again: Harry saw his lips moving soundlessly, undoubtedly framing the insults he was now forbidden to utter.

"Two years ago," said Harry, his heart now hammering against his ribs, "there was a big gold locket in the drawing room upstairs. We threw it out. Did you steal it back?"

There was a moment's silence, during which Kreacher straightened up to look Harry full in the face. Then he said, "Yes."

"Where is it now?" asked Harry jubilantly as Ron and Hermione looked gleeful.

Kreacher closed his eyes as though he could not bear to see their reactions to his next word.

"Gone."

"Gone?" echoed Harry, elation flooding out of him. "What do you mean, it's gone?"

The elf shivered. He swayed.

"Kreacher," said Harry fiercely, "I order you…"

"Mundungus Fletcher," croaked the elf, his eyes still tight shut. "Mundungus Fletcher stole it all: Miss Bella's and Miss Cissy's pictures, my Mistress's gloves, the Order of Merlin, First Class, the

goblets with the family crest, and… and…"

Kreacher was gulping for air: His hollow chest was rising and falling rapidly, then his eyes flew open and he uttered a bloodcurdling scream.

"… _and the locket, Master Regulus's locket, Kreacher did wrong, Kreacher failed in his orders!_ "

Hearing all of this excitement must have tempted Ginny past the breaking point, because she came running towards them at that moment. Ron opened his mouth to criticize her for abandoning her post, but Harry quickly silenced him.

"Kreacher, I want the truth: How do you know Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket?"

Kreacher then proceeded to tearfully recount the story of how he had travelled to the cave beside the lake, first with Voldemort and later with Regulus, to place and then retrieve Slytherin's locket. By the end of Kreacher's story, Hermione was crying, Ginny, who did not understand much of what had was said, was trying to comfort Kreacher, and even Ron was troubled enough that he volunteered to take Ginny's place as lookout. Harry's gift to Kreacher of Regulus's fake locket, however, turned out to be a stroke of genius, and when the elf left to search for Mundungus, he seemed positively overjoyed to do so.

As Kreacher left, Hermione was still wiping tears from her eyes, and she decided to go and sit with Ron. Ginny, meanwhile, turned to Harry.

"Can you explain to me this business about lockets?"

Harry sighed and told Ginny everything he had learned from his conversations with Dumbledore over the years, from the memories of Voldemort's past, to the revelation that he had created Horcruxes, and to what had happened on the night of Dumbledore's death before he and Harry arrived on the Astronomy Tower. Afterwards, Ginny sat silently for a while, then looked over R.A.B.'s note before she at last looked up again.

"So… we've got to find four more Horcruxes and destroy them, before we can even have a chance to get rid of You-Know-Who?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Wow," she said quietly, "you guys weren't joking when you said how important it was to leave immediately."

"No, we weren't," Harry mumbled.

But Ginny was barely listening. "I can't believe the 'Chosen One' rumors were true after all…"

Harry had no response for this. He didn't want Ginny to worry about him, but he could tell that all of this new information was overwhelming her just a bit. Particularly when he had mentioned the bit of the prophecy where Professor Trelawney said " _neither can live while the other survives_ ", Harry had noticed a flash of fear creep over Ginny's normally unflinching eyes.

At this point, Harry and Ginny decided to go and check up on Ron and Hermione. Ron decided to stay with Hermione as she took the next watch that night, so Harry and Ginny got the chance to talk alone for the first time in what seemed like ages while they got ready for bed.

"You okay, Gin?"

"Yes I'm fine," she whispered, "I just can't stop thinking about that prophecy. It's just… I obviously knew how dangerous everything was going to be for you, I just didn't realize that it was _this_ definite."

"Don't worry about it, okay? Dumbledore always told me not to."

Harry kissed Ginny, and that seemed to put her mind at ease. She fell asleep a few minutes later, and Harry couldn't help but smile, knowing that Ginny rarely worried herself too much about anything. As he laid down next to her, however, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt that he had placed this extra weight upon her.

Harry himself had a lot of trouble falling asleep, because talking so much about Dumbledore had caused some of the doubts he had been feeling since his conversation with Muriel to resurface. Why had Dumbledore seemingly left so many loose ends, and why had he not ever mentioned more of his and Harry's shared history? Why hadn't he given Harry the Sword of Gryffindor during their many conversations together, instead of risking that the Ministry wouldn't hand it over? And why had he not been more clear on _why_ he wanted Harry to have the Sword, or what was in the Snitch? Or why he wanted Ron to have the Deluminator? Or Hermione _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_? All of these worries combined to produce a relatively restless night of sleep for Harry, so that he was groggier than usual when Ron woke him to begin his watch.


	7. Chapter 7: A House Divided

As Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny awaited Kreacher's return over the next few days, they settled into something of a routine. Hermione spent much of her days examining _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ , while Harry (much to Ron's amusement) searched Hermione's copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ to see if he could find any clue that a relic of Rowena Ravenclaw existed. Ron, meanwhile, was practicing some of the protective spells he'd been taught by Tonks before their departure, and to Hermione's delight, he was getting rather good at them. Ginny, on the other hand, was frustrated by her inability to do magic. She was mostly left to helping prepare the food that Hermione conjured, which given Ginny's energetic personality, was intolerably tedious. One evening, however, while Ginny was on watch, she noticed a figure Apparate onto Number 12's doorstep.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, someone's coming!" she shouted urgently up the stairs.

Harry and Ron leapt up from the table where they'd been playing chess. Every nerve in Harry's body seemed to tauten: he pulled out his wand, moved into the shadows beside the decapitated elf heads, and waited. Ron was right behind him, and he could hear Hermione and Ginny rushing down the staircase to his left.

The door opened: Harry saw a glimpse of the lamplit square outside, and a cloaked figure edged into the hall and closed the door behind it. The intruder took a step forward, and Moody's voice asked, " _Severus Snape?_ " Then the dust figure rose from the end of the hall and rushed him, raising its dead hand.

"It was not I who killed you, Albus," said a quiet voice.

The jinx broke: The dust-figure exploded again, and it was impossible to make out the newcomer through the dense gray cloud it left behind. Harry pointed his wand into the middle of it.

"Don't move!"

He had forgotten the portrait of Mrs. Black: At the sound of his yell, the curtains hiding her flew open and she began to scream, "Mudbloods and filth dishonoring my house…"

"Hold your fire, it's me, Remus!"

"Oh, thank goodness," said Hermione weakly, pointing her wand at Mrs. Black instead; with a bang, the curtains swished shut again and silence fell. Ron and Ginny also lowered their wands, but Harry did not.

"Show yourself!" he called back.

Lupin moved forward into the lamplight, hands still held high in a gesture of surrender.

"I am Remus John Lupin, werewolf, sometimes known as Moony, one of the four creators of the Marauder's Map, married to Nymphadora, usually known as Tonks, and I taught you how to produce a Patronus, Harry, which takes the form of a stag."

"Oh, all right," said Harry, lowering his wand, "but I had to check, didn't I?"

"Speaking as your ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I quite agree that you had to check. The rest of you shouldn't be quite so quick to lower your defenses," said Lupin, glancing at the others.

They ran down the stairs toward him. Wrapped in a thick black traveling cloak, he looked exhausted, but pleased to see them.

"No sign of Severus, then?" he asked.

"No," said Harry. "What's going on? Is everyone okay?"

"Yes," said Lupin, "but we're all being watched. There are a couple of Death Eaters in the square outside…"

"We know…"

"I had to Apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure that they would not see me. They must know you're around here, but it doesn't seem as if they've been able to find a way to enter. Other Death Eaters are staking out anyone that's got any connection with the Order, it took me three days to shake off the one who was tailing me. Let's go downstairs, there's a lot to tell you, and I want to know what happened after you left the Burrow."

Harry proceeded to tell Lupin everything that had happened after they had fled the wedding. To Harry's surprise, Lupin did not seem shocked by what had happened on Tottenham Court Road.

"One of you lot must have said You-Know-Who's name."

"You mean Vol-" Harry began.

"Don't say it!" Lupin shouted, suddenly alarmed. "Arthur overheard Macnair talking at the Ministry, apparently You-Know-Who's name is taboo now."

"Taboo?" said Harry and Hermione simultaneously.

"Basically, if you say the name, the Ministry can detect it, and you can be sure that a few Snatchers will be on your tail. It's basically the Death Eaters way of tracking down the remaining Order members… Snatchers are basically the Ministry's abduction force," Lupin added, after seeing Ron's bemused expression. Ginny, however, shot an angry look at Hermione which was noticed only by Harry, apparently furious that she'd been so quick to blame Ginny for their predicament.

"Tell us what happened after we left, we haven't heard a thing since Dad told us the family was safe," said Ron.

"Well, Kingsley saved us," said Lupin. "Thanks to his warning most of the wedding guests were able to Disapparate before they arrived. Molly was beside herself when she noticed you were gone, Ginny, but once Arthur told her that he'd seen you leave with Harry, she calmed down a bit."

"We would've told them," Harry explained, "but it was decided last minute and we didn't get the chance…"

"I understand," said Lupin, "but it has caused a few problems. When the Death Eaters questioned us, Fred and George had already fled the wedding too, so we told them that Ron and Ginny were staying with them. They were skeptical, obviously, but after roughing us up a bit they left. We won't be able to explain your absence away any more once you don't show up for the Hogwarts Express though, so the rest of the family will have to go into hiding on August 31. You should see how much Fred and George have expanded their owl-order sales in the meantime," Lupin added with a grin.

"If the Weasleys need money, they can take some from my vault at Gringotts, I'll give you my key!" Harry exclaimed.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," said Lupin, and he pulled out a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. "Here," he said, pushing it across the table to Harry, "you'll know sooner or later anyway. This is their pretext for going after you."

Harry smoothed out the paper. A huge photograph of his own face filled the front page. He read the headline over it:

WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT

THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

The others gave roars of outrage, but Harry said nothing. He pushed the newspaper away; he did not want to read any more: He knew what it would say. Nobody but those who had been on top of the tower when Dumbledore died knew who had really killed him and, as Rita Skeeter had already told the Wizarding world, Harry had been seen running from the place moments after Dumbledore had fallen.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Lupin said.

"So Death Eaters have taken over the Daily Prophet too?" asked Hermione furiously.

Lupin nodded.

"But surely people realize what's going on?"

"The coup has been smooth and virtually silent," said Lupin. "The official version of Scrimgeour's murder is that he resigned; he has been replaced by Pius Thicknesse, who is under the Imperius Curse."

Harry was barely listening as Lupin explained further about Voldemort's plans for Hogwarts and the Ministry, furious that it had come to this. However, he angrily confronted Lupin when, after mentioning that Tonks was pregnant, he offered to travel with the four of them during their mission. To Harry, this was tantamount to abandoning his wife and child in a time of war. At this, Lupin angrily stormed off. As soon as the front door slammed behind Lupin, Hermione rounded on Harry.

"Harry, you shouldn't have done that," she said crossly. "How could you?"

Before Harry could respond, however, Ginny shouted nastily, "Give it a rest Hermione, you don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Ron interjected.

"Shut up Ron, you hypocrite, you fight with Hermione more than anyone!" Ginny shot back.

An angry silence filled the room, as the two couples glared at each other. This is exactly what Harry had feared, a split emerging among the four of them, but at this moment he was so angry at his two best friends that he didn't care much about offending them. Before he could respond, however, a deafening crack echoed around the kitchen. A mass of struggling limbs had appeared out of thin air right beside Harry's chair. Before anyone could react, a deep, bullfrog voice rang out from the pile.

"Kreacher has returned with the thief Mundungus Fletcher, Master."


	8. Chapter 8: Unintended Consequences

Since learning from Mundungus that Dolores Umbridge was in possession of Slytherin's locket, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had set their minds to planning an infiltration of the Ministry of Magic. The plan was to use Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Ministry employees, then spend as much time as possible trying to discover the location of the locket, and finally, if they got the chance, to steal it. Hermione came down to visit Harry privately late one night while he was on watch.

"Harry… there's no way we can risk bringing Ginny with us to the Ministry."

Harry shot her an exasperated glare. "Hermione, please. Didn't we just learn that Ginny wasn't the reason we were tracked?"

"Did we learn that? All Lupin told us was that there _might_ have been another way the Ministry tracked us. That doesn't necessarily mean that they _did_ track us that way."

"What am I supposed to tell Ginny, that she's just a passenger on this mission while we do all the real stuff? Why did you agree to bring her along if we can't use her?"

Hermione looked at Harry with sympathy. "Harry, I know it's tough, but I just don't think we can risk it. Ginny can still be useful to us through her intelligence and added perspective, plus in emergencies…"

"So she's just here as a security blanket?" Harry replied angrily.

"Plus… it's better for you to have her around. Don't pretend like that's not a big reason why you wanted her here, Harry… She helps keep you focused and relatively happy."

He told Hermione he'd think about it before deliberately changing the subject. He was furious at this insinuation, even if deep down he knew there was some truth to it. As talented as Ginny was, she wasn't as skilled at defensive magic as Harry, or as generally knowledgeable as Hermione. As Harry went to bed that night, he wrestled with the decision in his mind. The next day, he took Ginny aside to tell her that Hermione was right: they couldn't risk bringing her along.

Since that decision had been made, Ginny had been rather short with Harry, although she didn't raise the issue again in his presence. She seemed to be avoiding him, and Harry never found himself around in the room with her again for the next few days; she always seemed to have other things to do. However, Ginny's change in attitude was nothing compared to Kreacher's, who had managed to make Grimmauld Place a relatively comfortable home for the four of them, considering that, since September 1st had passed, they now were all fugitives from the Ministry. The four of them were enjoying one of Kreacher's more delicious dinners on the night before the planned infiltration when Harry suddenly ran from the room, with his scar aching sharply.

He was gliding along a twilit street. The buildings on either side of him had high, timbered gables; they looked like gingerbread houses.

He approached one of them, then saw the whiteness of his own long-fingered hand against the door. He knocked. He felt a mounting excitement. The door opened: A laughing woman stood there. Her face fell as she looked into Harry's face: humor gone, terror replacing it.

"Gregorovitch?" said a high, cold voice.

She shook her head: She was trying to close the door. A white hand held it steady, prevented her shutting him out.

"I want Gregorovitch."

"Er wohnt hier nicht mehr!" she cried, shaking her head. "He no live here! He no live here! I know him not!"

Abandoning the attempt to close the door, she began to back away down the dark hall, and Harry followed, gliding toward her, and his long-fingered hand had drawn his wand.

"Where is he?"

"Das weiß ich nicht! He move! I know not, I know not!"

He raised the wand. She screamed. Two young children came running into the hall. She tried to shield them with her arms. There was a flash of green light…

"Harry! HARRY!"

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had suddenly appeared in the bathroom where Harry had collapsed. Hermione appeared ready to scold him when Ron whispered "Drop it". Ginny, on the other hand, looked intrigued to know what Harry had seen, but Harry decided not to bring it up with Hermione present.

"I'm fine, I'm fine… let's go over the plan for tomorrow again."

The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione repeated their plan one more time as they quickly ate the breakfast Kreacher had prepared. As they prepared to leave, Ginny wished them luck, although still looking slightly annoyed at not being included. She had decided to spend the day helping Kreacher cleaning the remainder of the house. Harry tried to hide his nervousness as he kissed her goodbye, then Apparated to the alley outside the official Ministry entrance.

The early parts of their plan worked surprisingly well. Hermione took Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Mafalda Hopkirk of the Improper Use of Magic Office, while Ron was Reg Cattermole of Magical Maintenance and Harry was Albert Runcorn of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. However, they were forced to split up when Ron was ordered by a Death Eater to stop raining in his office, and Umbridge herself assigned to Hermione the task of record-keeping during Muggle-born hearings. Harry took the opportunity to search Umbridge's vacant office, but there was no sign of the locket there. When Harry went down to the courtrooms to find Hermione, however, he saw that Umbridge was wearing the locket. He stunned her and took it, then he and Hermione found Ron and attempted to flee the Ministry.

When they got back to the Atrium, however, they realized that their cover had been blown, because Ministry workers were sealing the fireplaces that served as exits. As they sprinted across the room to escape, Yaxley, a Death Eater who had been in the courtroom with Umbridge, gave chase. The trio just managed to escape through the last fireplace before it was closed. However, as they joined hands to Apparate back to Grimmauld Place, Harry felt Yaxley grab hold of his robes at the last minute. As soon as Harry glimpsed the front door of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he saw a great flash of red light and felt Hermione's hand grasp his as they Disapparated again.

The next thing Harry knew, he was lying on dirt in a heavily wooded area. As he struggled to his feet, Hermione let out a scream which made Harry jump. One look at Ron revealed the reason: he was bleeding quickly and deeply from his arm. It seemed that he had been Splinched.

"Harry, quickly, in my bag, there's a small bottle labeled 'Essence of Dittany'…"

"Bag, right…"

Harry sped to the place where Hermione had landed, seized the tiny beaded bag, and thrust his hand inside it. At once, object after object began presenting itself to his touch: He felt the leather spines of books, woolly sleeves of jumpers, heels of shoes…

"Quickly!"

He grabbed his wand from the ground and pointed it into the depths of the magical bag.

"Accio Dittany!"

A small brown bottle zoomed out of the bag; he caught it and hastened back to Hermione and Ron, whose eyes were now half-closed, strips of white eyeball all that were visible between his lids.

"He's fainted," said Hermione, who was also rather pale; she no longer looked like Mafalda, though her hair was still gray in places. "Unstopper it for me, Harry, my hands are shaking."

Harry wrenched the stopper off the little bottle, Hermione took it and poured three drops of the potion onto the bleeding wound. Greenish smoke billowed upward and when it had cleared, Harry saw that the bleeding had stopped. The wound now looked several days old; new skin stretched over what had just been open flesh.

"Wow," said Harry.

"It's all I feel safe doing," said Hermione shakily. "There are spells that would put him completely right, but I daren't try in case I do them wrong and cause more damage, he's lost so much blood

already…"

"How did he get hurt? I mean…" Harry shook his head, trying to clear it, to make sense of whatever had just taken place. "Why are we here? I thought we were going back to Grimmauld Place?"

Hermione took a deep breath. She looked close to tears. "Harry, I don't think we're going to be able to go back there."

"What d'you…?"

"As we Disapparated, Yaxley caught hold of someone and I couldn't get rid of him, he was too strong, and he was still holding on when we arrived at Grimmauld Place, and then… well, I think he must

have seen the door, and thought we were stopping there, so he slackened his grip and I managed to shake him off and I brought us here instead!"

"But then, where is he? Hang on… You don't mean he's at Grimmauld Place? He can't get in there?"

Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she nodded. "Harry, I think he can. I… I forced him to let go with a Revulsion Jinx, but I'd already taken him inside the Fidelius Charm's protection. Since Dumbledore died, we're Secret-Keepers, so I've given him the secret, haven't I?"

Harry sighed as he sat on the forest floor, thinking of all the comforts that Kreacher had brought to them at Grimmauld Place that were now lost. But a moment later he jumped up and looked at Hermione in horror.

"GINNY!"


	9. Chapter 9: The Innocent Victim

Harry Apparated silently under the Invisibility Cloak onto the top step at 12 Grimmauld Place, his heart pounding in his chest like it never had before. He was desperately trying not to imagine what could be awaiting him once he opened the front door. _Don't let her be dead. If she's dead, it's all my fault. I told her to come here with me. I told her she couldn't come with us to the Ministry when she wanted to. I couldn't shake off Yaxley, then left him here to find her._

With a quick look back to the street, Harry was surprised to see that there were no Death Eaters loitering as there had been for the past few weeks. In Harry's mind, this was either very good news or very bad: either they'd given up looking here for Harry since he'd been sighted at the Ministry, or they'd finally gained the access to Number Twelve that they'd been waiting for. Harry breathlessly opened the door and crept into the darkened hallway. He noticed quickly that Moody's protections on the house did not materialize as they normally had. As Harry stepped forward, he suddenly tripped over something rather large and fell to the floor, his glasses tumbling off his face in the process. Harry quickly pulled the Cloak off and whispered " _Lumos_ ," and the tip of his wand ignited.

Once Harry retrieved his glasses, he saw that he'd tripped over a man's body, although he did not know whose it was. There was glass laying all around the floor, cutting Harry's hand as he struggled to get back to his feet. He was about to put the Cloak back on when he saw to his horror that there were more bodies lying on the floor in the hallway ahead of him: one very large and another, rather small one. As Harry whispered _"Nox,"_ suddenly, a loud voice cried out from the stairs above.

" _Stupefy!_ "

A red jet of light struck Harry in the chest, he fell to the floor and saw no more.

The next thing Harry knew, he was laying on the floor with a long black wand pointed directly between his eyes.

"Ginny! Thank God you're okay!"

"Who are you? What's your name?"

Harry looked at Ginny in surprise, and saw that she was bleeding from a large gash on the right side of her head but otherwise seemed unhurt. "Gin, it's me, Harry!"

Ginny looked back at Harry, seemingly close to tears, but screamed again, "where did Harry Potter go this morning and who did he go with?"

"Gin, I went with Ron and Hermione to the Ministry to find Umbridge!"

Harry tried to smile at her, but a wild look in her eyes told him that she wasn't yet convinced. She stood holding her wand in his face for a few moments before she quietly whispered, "where… where and when did Harry and I kiss for the first time?"

"Gin, it was… it was in the Gryffindor common room. You had just won the Quidditch Cup."

Finally, Ginny lowered her wand and rushed to embrace Harry. As she cried into his shoulder, she whispered. "Oh my God, Harry, thank God you're back! I thought you all might be dead, Death Eaters showed up here while you were away!"

"I know, Gin," Harry said, holding her even more tightly as he tried to sit up. "I was so afraid, I thought you might be dead too. Let's go grab your things, get Kreacher and get out of here."

Ginny finally let go of Harry and looked him in the eye with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Harry… Kreacher's dead."

Horror shot quickly through Harry's body and settled somewhere in his gut. "Kreacher's _dead_?"

"Yes," said Ginny as she slowly got to her feet. "I didn't bring anything, remember? Let's go!"

Harry rushed to his feet, grabbed the Cloak, and the two of them ran down the stairs, through the hallway, and out the door. Harry scanned the street for signs of more Death Eaters; seeing none, he took Ginny's hand into his and Disapparated. The next thing he knew, they were standing in a secluded park that Harry had visited with the Dursleys when he was 8. Ginny quickly sat down on a nearby bench and motioned for Harry to join her as she asked, "where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Don't worry, Gin, they're safe," Harry muttered once he was satisfied that no one was else was near them. "Well, Ron's a bit shaken up, he got Splinched."

"What?" said Ginny in horror.

"He'll be okay, Hermione was tending to him when I left. So what happened at Grimmauld Place?"

Ginny shuddered as she too scanned their surroundings to make sure they weren't being overheard. "Kreacher and I had just finished making lunch when suddenly I heard the front door open. At first I figured it was you lot, so I ran upstairs to see how things had gone at the Ministry. But as I got there, I heard a loud bang and saw the dust Dumbledore explode in front of me. That's when I saw two Death Eaters, who I'd seen earlier in the morning on the street looking for us. Harry, it was horrible, luckily I had my wand in my pocket, but they started firing curses at me that came so close, I could feel them as they shot by. I managed to Stun one of them, I think it might have been Crabbe's dad, but the other one was shooting curses so fast I wouldn't have survived another minute if it hadn't been for Kreacher. He…" Ginny wiped another tear from her face. "I had just fallen while trying to dodge one of the curses. Kreacher threw a cleaver at the Death Eater as he was about to fire a Killing Curse at me, if Kreacher hadn't thrown off his balance I'd be dead for sure! As it was, the curse shot wildly into the air away from me. I fired a Reductor Curse at one of the gas lamps in the hallway, and it exploded right in the Death Eater's face and he fell down, covered in blood. When I finally had the courage to creep up and get a better look at him, I saw that he was dead."

"Ginny," said Harry slowly, "was it Yaxley?"

Ginny looked at Harry curiously. "No, but it was one of the Death Eaters we'd fought in the Department of Mysteries, I recognized him."

"Damn," said Harry, "so we definitely can't go back to Grimmauld Place then."

"Anyway," said Ginny, "I saw that he was dead, so I called out to Kreacher to tell him that we were safe when I saw... He was laying on the ground, Harry," she sobbed. "He must have been hit by the Killing Curse, it must have deflected off the wall!"

"There's nothing more you could have done, Gin, you fought brilliantly. Thank God you're okay, at least."

She managed a small smile as she looked back into Harry's eyes again. "What happened at the Ministry, how did they get into Grimmauld Place?"

Harry went on to explain everything that had happened at the Ministry and afterward, including how Yaxley had grabbed hold of him as they made their escape. "So Yaxley must have told the two Death Eaters who were standing guard how to go inside… and that's who attacked you."

"Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"The forest where we camped for the Quidditch World Cup," Harry replied. "We'd better get back, they're probably worried sick about both of us."

But at that moment, a silver otter appeared before them. It opened its mouth, and Hermione's voice emanated from it.

" _Don't come back, just spotted Snatchers nearby. Ron and I safe for now. Will send update when all is clear."_


	10. Chapter 10: A Day Away

Harry and Ginny expected Hermione's second message would come rather quickly, so they waited on the park bench for over an hour without leaving. While they were there, Harry apologized to Ginny for siding with Ron and Hermione and not having more faith in her. He was more proud of her than he could say; he honestly doubted whether even he could have reacted so well to such a sudden attack in a place that was basically their home. Ginny, meanwhile, said that she did not blame Harry for acting a bit cautiously; they were, after all, on a mission of incredible importance. They also agreed that it was great in one sense that Ginny had been forced to perform magic: they now felt confident that she could do so without being tracked by the Ministry, at least if there was some of-age witch or wizard nearby.

As the two sat silently for a while, Harry felt quite a bit of sadness as he dwelled on Kreacher's passing. He had disliked the house-elf from the first time he had met him, and hated him after learning about his betrayal of Sirius. Still, after hearing the elf's story about his Master Regulus Black and Slytherin's locket, he had felt an enormous amount of sympathy for the poor elf. Hermione and Dumbledore had been right all along: Kreacher was merely a product of the years and years of poor treatment he had received from wizards. This sympathy, plus the incredible gratitude Harry felt towards him for possibly saving Ginny's life, combined to produce more grief than Harry ever would have expected to feel for Kreacher's death. Additionally, without Kreacher's help, Harry would have never known to look for the locket with Dolores Umbridge.

 _The locket!_ After everything that had happened at the Ministry and Grimmauld Place, Harry had totally forgotten about the locket. And while he was happy that they were one step closer in their mission, he realized that he still had no idea how they were going to destroy it. As he and Ginny examined it, it was as difficult to open as it had been when they first encountered it at Grimmauld Place three years earlier. Harry stowed it away in his robes again, hoping that either Ron or Hermione would have a new idea.

After quite a bit of time had passed and no response from Hermione seemed forthcoming, Harry and Ginny decided to try and find a place to sleep for the night. They walked into the nearby Muggle village, where Harry Confunded a Muggle innkeeper into thinking that Harry and Ginny had pre-booked a room for that evening. He decided to use an alias in case Death Eaters came calling, so signed in as James and Lily Davies. When they got to the room, Ginny asked Harry why he had chosen to use his parents' names, and he confessed to her that he thinking a lot about them lately, and wanted to visit Godric's Hollow.

"I completely understand why you want to go back there Harry; I just don't know if you're going to get out of it what you're hoping."

"Yeah," Harry muttered, "d'you reckon I'm being rash?"

"No of course not, but maybe we should wait and discuss it with Ron and Hermione first."

Harry was happy to hear that Ginny didn't appear to hold ill feelings for Ron and Hermione either; the mission would be far less stressful if everyone was getting along and feeling their best. He and Ginny enjoyed their first night alone together as much as he could reasonably have hoped, given the circumstances. They slept in the next morning, awakening only when a bellhop knocked rather loudly onto their door and told them that it was time for checkout. As the two prepared to leave, they realized that they had no new clothes to change into. Since Ginny was fresh out of her own clothes even counting what was in Hermione's handbag, the two decided to spend the day at a local shopping mall. As they walked around, Harry relished just how _normal_ this day felt, and felt a tinge of sadness that he was not yet able to give Ginny the normal relationship that she deserved.

By sunset, Harry and Ginny were both becoming rather worried that they still had not heard from Ron and Hermione. Ginny suggested that they sneak into The Leaky Cauldron to see if they could hear any scrap of news, so the two Apparated to London, where they snuck under the Invisibility Cloak toward the famous gateway to London's wizarding world.

The two waited invisibly outside the front door for someone to come out, then rushed inside breathlessly as a witch stumbled out. The pub was almost completely deserted, much more so than it had ever been when Harry visited previously. Tom the barman was scrubbing down the counter miserably as they walked in, but looked up suspiciously as the floor squeaked under Ginny's foot. Harry breathlessly whispered " _Muffliato_ " and the two tiptoed into the corner of the room.

The only other inhabitants of the pub were two men Harry was unhappy to recognize. One of them was Albert Runcorn, the man he had impersonated at the Ministry just a day earlier. The other was Travers, a Death Eater whom Harry had also seen at the Ministry. Harry looked over at the table in front of them and was shocked to see a large photograph of Ginny on the cover of the _Daily Prophet_ , underneath the headline: "UNDESIRABLE No. 4 GINEVRA WEASLEY SUSPECTED IN DEATH OF MINISTRY OFFICIAL". When Ginny saw the headline she gasped, and then clapped her hand over her mouth when Runcorn looked curiously in their direction. Eventually, he shook his head and returned to his conversation.

"So Crabbe is sure that it was her?" said Runcorn.

"You never know with Crabbe, but he seemed reasonably confident." Travers muttered. "It makes sense, since we've suspected that she's been travelling with Potter."

"You know, Dolores gave me quite an earful this morning about that," Runcorn said miserably, "as if I was supposed to know that the blood traitor Cattermole was _really_ the blood traitor Weasley." Runcorn spat on the floor in disgust. Harry saw Tom the barman flinch on the other side of the room. "I'm just livid that so many Mudbloods escaped," Runcorn continued, "that's six weeks of work tracking Muggle ancestry completely wasted."

"Yeah, well," Travers replied, "I don't blame you, but I'm not going to pretend that the Dark Lord is thrilled about what happened. We got our people at the _Daily Prophet_ to spin it right," he added, motioning toward the paper in front of him, "but the fact that the most wanted wizard in Britain successfully infiltrated the Ministry has not gone over well at all."

"Has anything turned up in the search of the Black house?" Runcorn murmured.

"No," Travers replied bitterly, "it seems pretty clear that Potter and the others were indeed staying there, but all that Yaxley found there was Crabbe, and the bodies of Avery and a house-elf."

Runcorn cackled despondently. "It's too bad they didn't catch the girl. I would have loved to repay Potter for trashing my career."

At this moment, to Harry and Ginny's horror, a silver otter once again gamboled into the room and spoke with Hermione's voice.

" _All clear, meet us here as soon as you can._ "

Runcorn and Travers jumped from the table at the sight of the otter, peering around the deserted bar for the source of the Patronus. Eventually, they decided to search outside, so they hurried out the door that Harry knew led to Diagon Alley. Tom also rushed to the door and locked it behind them, muttering unintelligibly to himself as he walked away toward the stairs. Harry and Ginny looked at each other under the Cloak with relief, Harry snuck the _Daily Prophet_ into his jacket, and the two Disapparated for the forest where they hoped to find Ron and Hermione.


	11. Chapter 11: Reunited

When Harry and Ginny Apparated into the clearing where they had once stood during the Quidditch World Cup, initially it appeared to be deserted. All of a sudden, Hermione appeared seemingly out of thin air, almost knocking Harry over with a gigantic hug. Next, she hugged Ginny, and then pulled the two of them a few feet forward until suddenly the tent in which they had slept during the World Cup appeared in front of them.

"I cast some protective hexes around so no one else could find us," Hermione explained. "Ron's inside, come on in, I want to hear about everything that happened!"

As they entered, Harry saw Ron sitting in an old armchair. He made to get up to greet them, but when Hermione shot him a disapproving look he sat back and allowed Ginny to come over and hug him herself.

"How're you feeling, mate?" said Harry.

" 'M all right," said Ron, "Still hurts a bit, but Hermione's been fussing over me," he looked over at Hermione, who turned a bit pink as she looked at her feet, "and I think I'll be fine in a couple of days. What happened with you two?"

Harry and Ginny went on to tell the story of everything that had happened to them over the past couple of days. Hermione was distressed at learning what had happened to Kreacher, but, like Harry, said that she was relieved that at least Ginny was okay. Ron too was shocked at what had happened at Grimmauld Place, but even more so when he saw the _Daily Prophet_ with Ginny on the cover.

"Undesirable No. 4? Blimey, Ginny, you'll have half the Wizarding World looking for you now."

"Yeah," said Harry, "I saw that I was 'Undesirable No. 1' when I was looking around Umbridge's office. It wouldn't surprise me at all if you two were numbers 2 and 3."

"Well, we'll need to stay away from other wizards for a while," said Hermione grimly, "no point in risking someone recognizing one of us."

"No way!" said Ginny. "We need to keep up to date on what's going on, if Harry and I hadn't gone to the Leaky Cauldron we never would have even known about this!"

"Well, that's true," Hermione said slowly, with a look over at Ron who looked a bit annoyed, "but let's at least wait until Ron's better, okay? Then we can talk about it more…"

Harry took the opportunity to change the subject. "So what happened here after I left? You saw Snatchers?"

"Yeah," Ron whispered, "I was lying on the ground while Hermione was setting up the tent. All of a sudden, I heard someone mention your name, mate, and we were freaking out, wondering how they found us. Hermione just managed to finish the defensive spells around us before these two blokes came into view. Seems like Hermione's spells worked though, because they didn't approach us even though we couldn't have been more than 20 feet away."

"We froze there for what seemed like hours, waiting for them to go away," said Hermione. "They were walking around looking at the spot where we'd landed in the woods, because the ground there was disturbed, but they didn't seem to find anything important. I would've called you two back earlier, but they set up their own tent only about 50 feet down the trail."

"Did you overhear them talking at all?" said Ginny excitedly.

"Nah," said Ron, "mostly just babble about Mudbloods and some Ministry bloke they don't like. Sounds like they get a reward from the Ministry whenever they catch someone."

"Well, we'll definitely need to watch out for them, then. Especially you Gin," said Harry teasingly, pointing at her picture in the newspaper.

"As long as you lot don't bring more Death Eaters to my front doorstep, I think I'll be all right," Ginny replied. Even Ron couldn't stop himself from chortling as Hermione led Harry and Ginny to the food that was still sitting in the kitchen.

A couple hours later, the four of them were sitting in the tent doing nothing in particular when suddenly Hermione turned to Harry and said, "So, have you got it?"

"Got what?" he said with a little start.

"What did we just go through all that for? The locket! Where's the locket?"

" _You got it?_ " shouted Ron, raising himself a little higher on his pillows. "No one tells me anything! Blimey, you could have mentioned it!"

"Well, we were running for our lives from the Death Eaters, weren't we?" said Hermione.

"Here," said Harry, and he pulled the locket out of the pocket of his robes and handed it to Ron. He tried to prise the locket apart with his fingers, then attempted the charm Hermione had used to open Regulus's bedroom door. Neither worked. He handed the locket to Hermione, but she was no more successful at opening it than he had been.

"Can you feel it, though?" Ron asked in a hushed voice.

"What d'you mean?"

Ron passed the Horcrux to Harry. After a moment or two, Harry thought he knew what Ron meant. Was it his own blood pulsing through his veins that he could feel, or was it something beating inside the locket, like a tiny metal heart?

"What are we going to do with it?" Hermione asked.

"Keep it safe till we work out how to destroy it," Harry replied, and, little though he wanted to, he hung the chain around his own neck, dropping the locket out of sight beneath his robes, where it rested against his chest. "I think we should take it in turns to keep watch outside the tent," he added to Hermione, standing up and stretching. "And we'll need to think about more food as well. You stay there," he added sharply, as Ron attempted to sit up and turned a nasty shade of green.

Harry took the first watch, and felt surprisingly depressed as he sat outside the tent on an otherwise beautiful evening. Seeing Ginny's picture in the _Daily Prophet_ had made it sink in just how much danger he was putting her, Ron, and Hermione in. Dumbledore had given him the mission to hunt Horcruxes, not the others. Only his own desire for help and company had forced them into harm's way.

Harry's scar was burning now. He thought that there was so much they did not know. Why hadn't Dumbledore explained more? Obviously Dumbledore's death had been sudden, but still, it seemed like he gave Harry a job to do, but none of the instructions on how to do it.

"Give it to me, Gregorovitch."

Harry's voice was high, clear, and cold, his wand held in front of him by a long-fingered white hand. The man at whom he was pointing was suspended upside down in midair, though there were no ropes holding him. He had pure-white hair and a thick, bushy beard: a trussed-up Father Christmas.

"I have it not, I have it no more! It was, many years ago, stolen from me!"

"Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Gregorovitch. He knows… He always knows."

The hanging man's pupils were wide, dilated with fear, and they seemed to swell, bigger and bigger until their blackness swallowed Harry whole…

And now Harry was hurrying along a dark corridor in Gregorovitch's wake as he held a lantern aloft: Gregorovitch burst into the room at the end of the passage and his lantern illuminated

what looked like a workshop; and there on the window ledge sat perched, like a giant bird, a young man with golden hair. In the split second that the lantern's light illuminated him, Harry saw the delight upon his handsome face, then the intruder shot a Stunning Spell from his wand and jumped neatly backward out of the window with a crow of laughter.

And Harry was hurtling back out of those pupils and Gregorovitch's face was stricken with terror.

"Who was the thief, Gregorovitch?" said the high cold voice.

"I do not know, I never knew, a young man… no! Please! PLEASE!"

A scream that went on and on and then a burst of green light…


	12. Chapter 12: Melancholy

"Harry!"

He opened his eyes, panting, his forehead throbbing. He had passed out against the side of the tent. He looked up at Hermione, whose bushy hair obscured the tiny patch of sky visible through the dark branches high above them.

"Dream," he said, sitting up quickly and attempting to meet Hermione's glower with a look of innocence. "Must've dozed off, sorry."

"I know it was your scar! I can tell by the look on your face! You were looking into Vol…"

"Don't say his name!" came Ron's angry voice from the depths of the tent.

"Fine," retorted Hermione. "You-Know-Who's mind, then! If you just learned to apply Occlumency…"

But Harry was not interested in being told off; he wanted to discuss what he had just seen. At that moment, Ginny walked out of the tent and said, "What's going on out here?"

"He's found Gregorovitch, and I think he's killed him, but before he killed him he read Gregorovitch's mind and I saw…"

"I think I'd better take over the watch if you're so tired you're falling asleep," said Hermione coldly.

"I can finish the watch!"

"No, you're obviously exhausted. Go and lie down."

She dropped down in the mouth of the tent, looking stubborn. Ginny looked at Harry and mouthed silently "I'll calm her down." Angry, but wishing to avoid a row, Harry ducked back inside. Ron's still-pale face was poking out from the lower bunk; Harry climbed into the one above him and laid down. After several moments, Ron spoke in a voice so low that it would not carry to Hermione.

"What's You-Know-Who doing?"

Harry screwed up his eyes in the effort to remember every detail, then whispered. "He found Gregorovitch. He had him tied up, he was torturing him."

"How's Gregorovitch supposed to make him a new wand if he's tied up?"

"I dunno... It's weird, isn't it?"

Harry closed his eyes, thinking of all he had seen and heard. The more he recalled, the less sense it made... Voldemort had said nothing about Harry's wand, nothing about the twin cores, nothing about Gregorovitch making a new and more powerful wand to beat Harry's…

"He wanted something from Gregorovitch," Harry said, eyes still closed tight. "He asked him to hand it over, but Gregorovitch said it had been stolen from him . . . and then . . . then . . . He read Gregorovitch's mind, and I saw this young bloke perched on a windowsill. He stole it, he stole whatever You-Know-Who's after. And I . . . I think I've seen him somewhere..."

Harry wished he could have another glimpse of the laughing boy's face. The theft had happened many years ago, according to Gregorovitch. Why did the young thief look familiar?

The noises of the surrounding woods were muffled inside the tent; all Harry could hear was Ron's breathing. After a while, Ron whispered, "Couldn't you see what the thief was holding?"

"No . . . it must've been something small."

"Harry, you don't reckon You-Know-Who's after something else to turn into a Horcrux?"

"I don't know," said Harry slowly. "Maybe. But wouldn't it be dangerous for him to make another one? Didn't Hermione say he had pushed his soul to the limit already?"

"Yeah, but maybe he doesn't know that."

"Yeah . . . maybe," said Harry.

He had been sure that Voldemort had been looking for a way around the problem of the twin cores, and yet he had killed Gregorovitch without asking him a single question about wandlore. What was Voldemort trying to find? Why, with the Wizarding world at his feet, was he far away, intent on the pursuit of an object that Gregorovitch had once owned? Harry could still see the blond-haired youth's face; it was merry, wild; there was a Fred and George-ish air of triumphant trickery about him. He had soared from the windowsill like a bird, and Harry had seen him before, but he could not think where...

With Gregorovitch dead, it was the merry-faced thief who was in danger now, and it was on him that Harry's thoughts dwelled, as Ron's snores began to rumble from the lower bunk and as he himself drifted slowly into sleep once more.

When they awoke the next morning, they decided it was best not to stay anywhere too long. Hermione therefore removed the enchantments she had placed around the clearing, while Harry and Ginny obliterated all the marks and impressions on the ground that might show they had camped there. Then they Disapparated to the outskirts of a small market town.

Over the next few days, Ron's health improved enough that he was mostly able to do his share of searching for food as well as his turns as lookout. Ginny, despite Harry's and Ron's pleas to treat her head wound with Hermione's Dittany, insisted that she didn't need it. Harry still snuck a few drops and put it on her head one night as she slept. He and Hermione had luckily escaped the previous few days unscathed, but after a while all four of them were starting to feel the pains of having lost Kreacher's delicious meals.

Harry was becoming rather irritated with all three of them as they bounced from campsite to campsite. As the days wore on, Hermione constantly wanted to brainstorm ideas for where the next Horcrux could be hidden, which only made Harry more frustrated at their apparent lack of progress. Ron, meanwhile, was seemingly most affected by the lack of good food, and his energy level was quite low even once his arm was fully healed. And Ginny was becoming so hyper-concerned with Harry that it was starting to become grating. One afternoon, when Ginny had yet again asked Harry if he was feeling okay, he barked "I'm fine, all right?" and stormed off.

Harry walked to a nearby lake and started throwing stones to let off steam. The anger seemed to be overwhelming him, aimed both at Dumbledore for putting him in such a predicament, as well as himself for forcing his three best friends to accompany him on this wild goose chase. They seemed so eager to move forward, so optimistic at their chances, that Harry knew they were headed for a brutal crash down to earth. And it was all because of Dumbledore, Harry and Dumbledore, and their half-baked plan to bring down the most powerful wizard of all time.

As Harry sat down, he saw his reflection in the water, and noticed to his surprise that he actually _was_ looking rather ill. There were deep circles under his eyes, despite the fact that he'd spent half of the last few days sleeping. Most of the color had drained from his skin, to the point that he somewhat resembled a younger Tom Riddle that Harry had once seen apply for the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Furthermore, his scar was aching worse than it had in many months, and while he had not had another vision of Voldemort's movements since the night he'd killed Gregorovitch, Harry was experiencing jolts of anger and glee that were unrelated to his thoughts and activities.

Harry trudged back to the tent and halfheartedly apologized to the others for his outburst. He was just about to lie down in his bunk again when Hermione suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Of course!" she cried, clapping a hand to her forehead. "Harry, give me the locket! Come on," she said impatiently, clicking her fingers at him when he did not react, "the Horcrux, Harry, you're still wearing it!"

She held out her hands, and Harry lifted the golden chain over his head. The moment it parted contact with Harry's skin he felt free and oddly light. He had not even realized that he was clammy or that there was a heavy weight pressing on his stomach until both sensations lifted.

"Better?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, loads better!"

"Harry," she said, crouching down in front of him and using the kind of voice he associated with visiting the very sick, "you don't think you've been possessed, do you?"

At this Ginny stood up too. "Harry, have you had any blackouts, other than when you've seen into You-Know-Who's mind?"

"What? No!" he said defensively. "I remember everything we've done while I've been wearing it."

"Hmm," said Hermione, looking down at the heavy gold locket. "Well, maybe we ought not to wear it. We can just keep it in the tent."

"We are not leaving that Horcrux lying around," Harry stated firmly. "If we lose it, if it gets stolen…"

"Oh, all right, all right," said Hermione, and she placed it around her own neck and tucked it out of sight down the front of her shirt. "But we'll take turns wearing it, so nobody keeps it on too long."

"Great," said Ron sarcastically, "and now we've sorted that out, can we please get some food?"

 _A/N: Lots of canon in this one, I know, but unfortunately there's really no way around it for the story to make sense. The Horcruxes are obviously vital to the story, and I also tried to sort of capture the dynamics of the group a bit. Hoping to get a bit more exciting in upcoming chapters!_


	13. Chapter 13: A New Idea

As Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny continued travelling aimlessly throughout the English countryside, they quickly discovered their new reality: a full stomach meant good spirits; an empty one, bickering and gloom. Harry was least surprised by this, because he had suffered periods of near starvation at the Dursleys'. Hermione bore up reasonably well on those nights when they managed to scavenge nothing but berries or stale biscuits, her temper perhaps a little shorter than usual and her silences rather dour. Ron and Ginny, however, had always been used to three delicious meals a day, courtesy of their mother or of the Hogwarts house-elves, and hunger made them both unreasonable and irascible. Whenever lack of food coincided with Ron's turn to wear the Horcrux, he became downright unpleasant, and even Harry made it a point to avoid Ginny whenever it was her turn, not wanting to risk triggering her notoriously short fuse.

"So where next?" was Ron's constant refrain. He did not seem to have any ideas himself, but expected Harry, Hermione, and Ginny to come up with plans while he sat and brooded over the low food supplies. This was especially unfair to Ginny, who knew even less about Tom Riddle's past than Ron did. The others did their best to keep the peace between Ron and Ginny, but occasional rows were unavoidable.

Accordingly, Harry and Hermione spent fruitless hours trying to decide where they might find the other Horcruxes, and how to destroy the one they already had, their conversations becoming increasingly repetitive since they had no new information. As Dumbledore had told Harry that he believed Voldemort had hidden the Horcruxes in places important to him, they kept reciting, in a sort of dreary litany, those locations they knew that Voldemort had lived or visited: the orphanage where he had been born and raised; Hogwarts, where he had been educated; Borgin and Burkes, where he had worked after completing school; then Albania, where he had spent his years of exile. These formed the basis of their speculations.

"Yeah, let's go to Albania. Shouldn't take more than an afternoon to search an entire country," said Ron sarcastically.

"There can't be anything there. He'd already made five of his Horcruxes before he went into exile, and Dumbledore was certain the snake is the sixth," said Hermione as she shot a furious look at Ron. "We know the snake's not in Albania, it's usually with You-Know-Who…"

Silence filled the tent again. "I can't see him hiding anything at Borgin and Burkes," said Harry finally, who had made this point many times before, but said it again simply to break the nasty silence. "Borgin and Burke were experts at Dark objects, they would've recognized a Horcrux straightaway."

Ron yawned pointedly. Repressing a strong urge to throw something at him, Harry plowed on, "I still reckon he might have hidden something at Hogwarts."

Hermione sighed. "But Dumbledore would have found it, Harry!"

Harry repeated the argument he kept bringing out in favor of this theory.

"Dumbledore said in front of me that he never assumed he knew all of Hogwarts's secrets. I'm telling you, if there was one place Vol…"

"Oi!"

"YOU-KNOW-WHO!" Harry shouted, goaded past endurance. "If there was one place that was really important to You-Know-Who, it was Hogwarts!"

"Oh, come on," scoffed Ron. "His _school_?"

"Yeah, his school! It was his first real home, the place that meant he was special; it meant everything to him, and even after he left…"

"This is You-Know-Who we're talking about, right? Not you?" inquired Ron. He was tugging at the chain of the Horcrux around his neck: Harry was visited by a desire to seize it and throttle him.

"You told us that You-Know-Who asked Dumbledore to give him a job after he left," said Hermione.

"That's right," said Harry.

"And Dumbledore thought he only wanted to come back to try and find something, probably another founder's object, to make into another Horcrux?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"But he didn't get the job, did he?" said Hermione. "So he never got the chance to find a founder's object there and hide it in the school!"

"Okay, then," said Harry, defeated. "Forget Hogwarts."

Without any other leads, they traveled into London and, hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, searched for the orphanage in which Voldemort had been raised. Hermione stole into a library and discovered from their records that the place had been demolished many years before. They visited its site and found a tower block of offices.

"We could try digging in the foundations?" Hermione suggested halfheartedly.

"He wouldn't have hidden a Horcrux here," Harry said. He had known it all along: The orphanage had been the place Voldemort had been determined to escape; he would never have hidden a part of his soul there. Dumbledore had shown Harry that Voldemort sought grandeur or mystique in his hiding places; this dismal gray corner of London was as far removed as you could imagine from Hogwarts or the Ministry or a building like Gringotts, the Wizarding bank, with its golden doors and marble floors.

Suddenly Ginny, who was ordinarily quite quiet during these discussions even when she wasn't having one of her bad moods, jumped in excitedly. "You know, instead of endlessly repeating what we already know about You-Know-Who, why don't we try and find out more?"

"What do you mean?" said Harry curiously.

"Well, he's quite famous, I'm sure there's been a ton of literature written about him…"

"I don't think so," said Hermione miserably (she not-so-coincidentally was wearing the locket), "most of the Wizarding world doesn't even know that You-Know-Who's real name is Tom Riddle…"

"Still, it's worth a shot, isn't it? Why don't Harry and I sneak into Flourish and Blotts and see if we can't find a book or two…"

"No, of course we can't do this, it's too risky," said Hermione quickly. "It's one thing to sneak around Muggle villages, but we're the four most wanted people in the Wizarding world, and You-Know-Who controls the Ministry. We can't just expect to waltz into Diagon Alley and rob a bookstore and have no one notice…"

"Fine," said Ginny shortly, "let's just continue doing nothing for weeks on end and hope the Horcruxes just stroll inside the tent…"

"It's a good idea, Hermione," said Ron, to everyone's great surprise. Ron had been almost as cautious as Hermione since they'd left Grimmauld Place, and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't want Ginny to encounter any more Death Eaters. "So long as you promise to nick some food from the Leaky Cauldron…"

As Harry and Ginny prepared to go, Harry was amused to hear that Hermione had volunteered to take Ron's turn wearing the Horcrux; apparently in her mind this was preferable to being alone with Ron while he was wearing it. Harry and Hermione agreed that it was best to actually buy books instead of stealing them, since they couldn't be sure what protective enchantments the store had in place to detect shoplifters. To that end, Hermione gave them some of the unused Polyjuice Potion she had stored in her handbag, which Harry would use while Ginny remained hidden under the Invisibility Cloak. They bid goodbye to Ron and Hermione, who Disapparated to a beach the Weasleys had once visited, while Harry and Ginny decided it would be nice to simply walk the relatively short distance to Charing Cross Road.

To their surprise, they didn't have to wait when they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron this time, because the door was standing wide open. As they crept inside, they noticed that the pub was even more empty than it had been the last time they'd visited; even Tom the barman was nowhere to be seen. The two tiptoed across the room, went into the courtyard, and tapped the brick to open the secret entrance to Diagon Alley.

No one reacted to the sudden opening of the archway; in fact, there was still no one in sight. When Harry looked around, as far as the eye could see there were countless Ministry posters covering the windows of mostly vacant shops. His picture seemed to be the most prominent (at least a third of the posters sought his capture, offering a 50,000 Galleon reward in return) but there were also posters seeking other Order members, including Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry and Ginny continued to walk invisibly toward Flourish and Blotts when they noticed a familiar face. It was Mundungus Fletcher, standing behind a rickety wooden stand where he appeared to be peddling various (probably stolen) goods. As the two approached snuck him him, Harry decided to throw caution to the winds. He grabbed Ginny's arm to stop her. Then he tapped Mundungus on the shoulder, and when he jumped fearfully Harry whispered into his ear.

"Calm yourself, Dung… it's Harry Potter."


	14. Chapter 14: A Chance Encounter

"Harry Pot..."

"Shut up!" hissed Ginny. "Or I'll hex you!"

Mundungus was shaking violently as he searched for onlookers. "Merlin's beard, how many heart attacks are you lot planning on giving me?"

"No more if you do as I ask," Harry whispered. "Now shut up and listen. I need a few of your hairs…"

"My hairs? Why d'you…"

"Shut up!" said Harry and Ginny together.

Mundungus scowled as he pulled a couple of hairs from the top of his head. Harry looked both ways down the alley before reaching his hand out from under the Cloak and taking the hairs.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, "now take this rubbish and get out of here for a while…"

"You lot better not frame me of any crimes with Polyjuice Potion…"

Harry and Ginny walked away as Mundungus continued muttering. Ginny pulled the vial of Polyjuice Potion out of her pocket and handed it to Harry, who dropped Mundungus's hairs inside. Then he drank it, trying desperately not to make a sound as his body slowly transformed into that of Mundungus. After the transformation was complete, the two of them started toward Flourish and Blotts. Ginny had to suppress a giggle as she watched Harry trying not to trip on his now too-long robes. As the storefront came into view, they hid behind an abandoned kiosk, and Harry slipped out from under the Cloak. Once he was sure no one was looking, he emerged and walked into the store, holding open the door so Ginny could sneak in too.

As Harry looked around the bookstore, he noticed that it was quite as deserted as the rest of Diagon Alley. There was a large display of _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_ by Rita Skeeter at the front of the store, which looked mostly untouched. Additionally, there were several newer looking books on adjoining shelves, books that bared an official Ministry of Magic insignia. One caught Harry's eye, titled _The Boy Who Lied: How Harry Potter Duped the Wizarding World_. Disgusted, Harry marched forward toward the front desk. The only other inhabitant was a manager Harry had encountered here a few times previously. At the sight of Harry, he rushed forward, saying "Good morning, sir, how may I help you?"

"Fine, thanks," said Harry in Mundungus's voice. "Was just wondering, if you had any literature on… You-Know-Who."

Harry tried to keep his expression casual as the manager looked at him suspiciously. "And why would you want something like that?"

"Research," Harry lied, "I've been reading about magical history… and wanted to know more about… the First War…" Harry heard Ginny fidget behind him. He was already considering just abandoning this effort, as nobody in their right mind would believe that someone like Mundungus would be interested in something like this. Indeed, the manager looked unconvinced, but turned his back and started scanning the bookshelves.

"Well, sir, most books about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named have been banned by the Ministry," said the manager tersely. "So there's not much I can do to help you."

"Well, maybe there's something we can work out…" said Harry desperately. He felt Ginny tap him urgently on the back, but Harry was determined at this point not to leave empty-handed.

The manager sized him up for a moment before quietly muttering, "Well… there might just be a book in the back… if you've got ten Galleons."

Harry sighed and resentfully searched his pockets before handing the money over. "Oh… would you mind throwing in one of those?" he added, pointing at the Rita Skeeter display.

Three minutes later, Harry was walking back out onto Diagon Alley, holding a bag containing both _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_ as well as an old, leather-bound book titled _The Secret History of the Dark Lord_. Harry was just about to walk behind the kiosk again when he heard someone shout, "Hey, Dung!"

Harry turned around with a start. Walking toward him was Lee Jordan, one of Fred and George Weasley's best friends from Hogwarts. Harry shot him what he hoped was a normal look as he muttered, "Hey, Lee…"

"Dung, have you got the… _item_ … that we discussed?" Lee muttered furtively.

"Oh… no, I haven't," said Harry, trying not to look bemused, "I'll have to catch you next time."

"You better," Lee shot back angrily, "We didn't give you fifty Galleons for nothing, you know…"

"Right," said Harry quickly, "I'll get it to you as soon as I can."

"Good," said Lee, lowering his voice even further. "I've got to go anyway, Fred and George are expecting me in a few minutes, we're airing another _Potterwatch_ …"

"Potterwatch!" said Harry, suddenly interested. "What's Potterwatch?"

"Merlin's beard, Dung, you don't remember? You really are thick," whispered Lee incredulously. "Just go home now, tap your wireless with your wand and say ' _Prongs_.'"

"Okay," said Harry, "thanks Lee."

Lee shook his head and walked away. Harry slowly creeped back behind the kiosk, where Ginny suddenly appeared and threw the Cloak over both of them.

"Wow," said Ginny, "I wonder what all that was about."

"No idea," Harry whispered, "but let's get out of here."

Harry and Ginny crept invisibly back into the Leaky Cauldron. There was still no one around, so they decided to get the food Ron requested from a Muggle market on Charing Cross Road. Once they had taken as much food as they could carry, Harry grabbed Ginny's arm and they Disapparated.

When they reappeared on the beach where they knew Ron and Hermione had set up their tent, Ron eagerly pulled them within the protective boundaries and started scarfing down the bread Ginny was holding. Harry, meanwhile, went straight into the tent, and as soon as he found Hermione he yelled "Do you have a wireless in your handbag?"

Hermione, looking startled, said "Yes, but why?"

"I need to listen to something," said Harry distractedly. He rushed to Hermione's handbag, took out a wireless radio, and placed it on the kitchen table. He pulled out his wand, placed it on the radio and muttered, " _Prongs_."

A moment later, Fred's voice was filling the tent, and Ron and Ginny rushed inside.

"… you're right, River, he doesn't exactly have it all together. But hopefully he can come through and get it for us soon."

Next they heard Lee's voice again. "We all need to do whatever we can to help Harry Potter, so if our listeners have any suggestions, please contact either Rodent or myself, it would be much appreciated."

"Our list of casualties today is thankfully short," said Fred. "Famous wandmaker Mykew Gregorovitch was found murdered in Germany today. There's no indication as to whether there was Death Eater involvement, but this does lend some credence to recent rumors that You-Know-Who is traveling abroad. We've also learned that the body of Florean Fortescue was found yesterday. Fortescue was the owner of a popular ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley, and was abducted from his shop by Death Eaters last year."

"There were also a couple of suspicious Muggle attacks over the past few days," said Lee. "A family of Muggles was found dead in their homes Sunday in Edinburgh. Muggle authorities have not yet been able to determine the cause of their deaths, but it bears the hallmarks of a Death Eater attack. Additionally, a Muggle library in London exploded on Saturday, resulting in at least four Muggle deaths. The Order of the Phoenix suspects Death Eater involvement."

"That's all for our show today. Join us again on Thursday for more _Potterwatch_. The password will be 'Alice.' For River, this is Rodent, signing off."

As the broadcast went silent, there was silence in the tent before Ron finally spoke. "So… how was your trip to Diagon Alley?"


	15. Chapter 15: The Failed Attempt

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny listened to _Potterwatch_ religiously over the next couple of weeks. It was so valuable to finally have a source of news on what was going on in the War that they made certain to all be in the tent whenever it was on. Ron and Ginny seemed to listen to the broadcasts with particular apprehension; Harry suspected it was because they were hoping to hear (or not hear) news about their family. So far, the show had said nothing about any of the Weasleys. Harry found this encouraging, since Fred often hosted the show, and would seem to be in a position to know if a family member was hurt or killed.

They often did hear sad news. Two days after their trip to Diagon Alley, _Potterwatch_ reported that Tom the barman of the Leaky Cauldron had disappeared, and that the Leaky Cauldron was now closed. This was a blow for Harry: he didn't know if you could Apparate directly into Diagon Alley, and he was reluctant to try, since he knew the Ministry of Magic regulated Apparition. However, one cold December afternoon, _Potterwatch_ broadcast a bombshell.

"It is with great pleasure," said Kingsley Shacklebolt, "that I tell our listeners that Dirk Cresswell, Muggle-born former head of the Goblin Liaison Office at the Ministry of Magic, appears to have escaped Ministry custody. His current whereabouts are unknown, but one has to imagine that wherever he is, it's better than Azkaban prison."

"Indeed, Royal," said Lupin, "we hope that all Muggle-borns listening remember not to appear for your Ministry hearings. It is, unfortunately, much safer to go into hiding."

"Good to hear Lupin's voice, looks like you got through to him, Harry." Ginny said with a smile.

"Additionally," said Kingsley, "we have learned that there has been a break-in at the Hogwarts office of Severus Snape, current Headmaster of Hogwarts school and assassin of Albus Dumbledore. From what we have gathered, members of the student group 'Dumbledore's Army' broke into Snape's office and attempted to take something. They were, unfortunately, caught in their attempt. We regrettably have no further information regarding who was involved or what their condition is at present."

"However," continued Lupin, "we do have confirmation from one of our Gringotts sources that Professor Snape was seen with another Death Eater at Gringotts bank the following day. Reportedly, Snape was carrying a large, misshapen package when he entered the bank, but left emptyhanded. No word on whether this is related to the break-in attempt, but it's hard not to consider that possibility."

"Well, that's all the information we have for you today," Kingsley added, "for Romulus, this is Royal, signing off. Our next broadcast will be tomorrow at noon. The password will be 'Minerva.' Thanks for tuning in, and remember: Constant Vigilance!"

The radio went silent. Harry immediately turned to the others and said, "A break-in at Snape's office?" Then he turned to Hermione and said, "Get Phineas."

"I know!" said Hermione.

She lunged for the tiny beaded bag, this time sinking her arm in it right up to the armpit. "Here… we… are…" she said between gritted teeth, and she pulled at something that was evidently in the depths of the bag. Slowly the edge of an ornate picture frame came into sight. Harry hurried to help her. As they lifted the empty portrait of Phineas Nigellus free of Hermione's bag, she kept her wand pointing at it, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

"If someone really broke into the headmaster's office, Phineas Nigellus would have seen it!" said Ginny.

"Unless he was asleep," said Harry, but he still held his breath as Hermione knelt down in front of the empty canvas, her wand directed at its center, cleared her throat, then said:

"Er… Phineas? Phineas Nigellus?"

Nothing happened.

"Phineas Nigellus?" said Hermione again. "Professor Black? Could we talk to you? Please?"

"Please always helps," said a cold, snide voice, and Phineas Nigellus slid into his portrait.

At once, Hermione cried: " _Obscuro!_ " A black blindfold appeared over Phineas Nigellus's clever, dark eyes, causing him to bump into the frame and shriek with pain.

"What… how dare… what are you…?"

"I'm very sorry, Professor Black," said Hermione, "but it's a necessary precaution!"

"Remove this foul addition at once! Remove it, I say! You are ruining a great work of art! Where am I? What is going on?"

"Never mind where we are," said Harry, and Phineas Nigellus froze, abandoning his attempts to peel off the painted blindfold.

"Can that possibly be the voice of the elusive Mr. Potter?"

"Maybe," said Harry, knowing that this would keep Phineas Nigellus's interest. "We've got a couple of questions to ask you…. About the break-in at the headmaster's office."

"Ah," said Phineas Nigellus, now turning his head this way and that in an effort to catch sight of Harry, "yes. Those students acted most unwisely there. They were foolhardy in the extreme. Thieving from the headmaster!"

"Thieving what?" said Harry.

"The Sword of Gryffindor!" said Phineas Nigellus.

Hermione and Ginny gasped. Harry, however, was somewhat unsurprised.

"Oh, well, they weren't thieving, then," said Harry. "That sword isn't Snape's."

"It belongs to Professor Snape's school," said Phineas Nigellus. "Exactly what claim did Fletcher have upon it? He deserved his punishment, as did the idiot Longbottom and the Lovegood oddity!"

"Neville is not an idiot and Luna is not an oddity!" said Ginny.

But Harry was lost in thought. "Fletcher… you mean Mundungus Fletcher?"

"Yes of course… apparently he couldn't resist his thieving impulses… Where am I?" repeated Phineas Nigellus, starting to wrestle with the blindfold again. "Where have you brought me? Why have you removed me from the house of my forebears?"

"Never mind that! How did Snape punish Neville, Luna, and Mundungus?" asked Harry urgently.

"Professor Snape sent the students into the Forbidden Forest, to do some work for the oaf, Hagrid. Fletcher was sent to Azkaban."

"Hagrid's not an oaf!" said Hermione shrilly.

"And Snape might've thought that was a punishment," said Harry, "but Neville and Luna probably had a good laugh with Hagrid. The Forbidden Forest . . . they've faced plenty worse than the Forbidden Forest, big deal!"

He felt somewhat relieved; he had been imagining horrors, the Cruciatus Curse at the very least. He also, however, felt a twinge of sympathy for Mundungus. Whatever his faults, he had helped Harry out of a number of tight spots.

"What we really wanted to know, Professor Black, is whether anyone else has, um, taken out the sword at all? Maybe it's been taken away for cleaning or… or something?"

Phineas Nigellus paused again in his struggles to free his eyes and sniggered. "Muggle-borns," he said. "Goblin-made armor does not require cleaning, simple girl. Goblins' silver repels mundane dirt, imbibing

only that which strengthens it."

"Don't call Hermione simple," said Harry.

"I grow weary of contradiction," said Phineas Nigellus. "Perhaps it is time for me to return to the headmaster's office?"

Still blindfolded, he began groping the side of his frame, trying to feel his way out of his picture and back into the one at Hogwarts. Harry had a sudden inspiration.

"Dumbledore! Can't you bring us Dumbledore?"

"I beg your pardon?" asked Phineas Nigellus.

"Professor Dumbledore's portrait! Couldn't you bring him along, here, into yours?"

Phineas Nigellus turned his face in the direction of Harry's voice.

"Evidently it is not only Muggle-borns who are ignorant, Potter. The portraits of Hogwarts may commune with each other, but they cannot travel outside the castle except to visit a painting of themselves hanging elsewhere. Dumbledore cannot come here with me, and after the treatment I have received at your hands, I can assure you that I shall not be making a return visit!"

Slightly crestfallen, Harry watched Phineas redouble his attempts to leave his frame.

"Professor Black," said Hermione, "couldn't you just tell us, please, when was the last time the sword was taken out of its case? Before Snape removed it from the castle, I mean?"

"I don't believe I mentioned that," said Phineas quickly, although he sounded somewhat impressed. "I believe that the last time I saw the sword of Gryffindor leave its case was when Professor Dumbledore used it to break open a ring."

Hermione whipped around to look at Harry. Neither of them dared say more in front of Phineas Nigellus, who had at last managed to locate the exit.

"Well, good night to you," he said a little waspishly, and he began to move out of sight again. Only the edge of his hat brim remained in view when Harry gave a sudden shout.

"Wait! Have you told Snape you saw this?" said Ginny urgently.

Phineas Nigellus stuck his blindfolded head back into the picture. "Professor Snape has more important things on his mind than the many eccentricities of Albus Dumbledore."

And with that, he vanished completely, leaving behind him nothing but his murky backdrop.


	16. Chapter 16: Things Unsaid

"Harry!" Hermione cried.

"I know!" Harry shouted. Unable to contain himself, he punched the air; it was more than he had dared to hope for. He strode up and down the tent, feeling that he could have run a mile; he did not even

feel hungry anymore. Hermione was squashing Phineas Nigellus's portrait back into the beaded bag; when she had fastened the clasp she threw the bag aside and raised a shining face to Harry.

"The sword can destroy Horcruxes! Goblin-made blades imbibe only that which strengthen them… Harry, that sword's impregnated with basilisk venom!"

"And Dumbledore didn't give it to me because he still needed it, he wanted to use it on the locket…"

Ginny too looked euphoric, and ran over to kiss Harry fiercely. "And we know where it is now! We know it's at Gringotts!"

"But… _where_ at Gringotts?" Hermione added, somewhat let down.

Harry considered this. "I mean, it must be either his own vault… Or one for Hogwarts! I remember, back when I went to Diagon Alley with Hagrid for the first time, he took out the Sorcerer's Stone, and it was in Vault 713! That makes sense, right? What do you think Ron? … Ron?"

Harry looked around. For one bewildered moment he thought that Ron had left the tent, then realized that Ron was lying in the shadow of a lower bunk, looking stony.

"Oh, remembered me, have you?" he said.

"What?"

Ron snorted as he stared up at the underside of the upper bunk.

"You lot carry on. Don't let me spoil your fun."

Perplexed, Harry looked to Hermione for help, but she shook her head, apparently as nonplussed as he was. Ginny too looked bewildered.

"What's the problem?" asked Harry.

"Problem? There's no problem," said Ron, still refusing to look at Harry. "Not according to you, anyway."

There were several plunks on the canvas over their heads. It had started to rain.

"Well, you've obviously got a problem," said Harry. "Spit it out, will you?"

Ron swung his long legs off the bed and sat up. He looked mean, unlike himself.

"All right, I'll spit it out. Don't expect me to skip up and down the tent because there's some other damn thing we've got to find. Just add it to the list of stuff you don't know."

" _I_ don't know?" repeated Harry, " _I_ don't know?"

Plunk, plunk, plunk. The rain was falling harder and heavier; it pattered on the leaf-strewn bank all around them and into the river chattering through the dark. Dread doused Harry's jubilation: Ron was saying exactly what he had suspected and feared him to be thinking.

"It's not like I'm not having the time of my life here," said Ron, "you know, with my arm mangled and nothing to eat and freezing my backside off every night. I just hoped, you know, after we'd been running round a few weeks, we'd have achieved something."

"Ron," Hermione said, but in such a quiet voice that Ron could pretend not to have heard it over the loud tattoo the rain was now beating on the tent.

"I thought you knew what you'd signed up for," said Harry.

"Yeah, I thought I did too."

"So what part of it isn't living up to your expectations?" asked Harry. Anger was coming to his defense now. "Did you think we'd be staying in five-star hotels? Finding a Horcrux every other day? Did you think you'd be back to Mummy by Christmas?"

"We thought you knew what you were doing!" shouted Ron, standing up, and his words pierced Harry like scalding knives. "We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a real plan!"

"Ron!" said Ginny, this time clearly audible over the rain thundering on the tent roof, but he ignored her too.

"Well, sorry to let you down," said Harry, his voice quite calm even though he felt hollow, inadequate. "I've been straight with you from the start, I told you everything Dumbledore told me. And in case you haven't noticed, we've found one Horcrux…"

"Yeah, and we're about as near getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them… nowhere effing near, in other words!"

"Take off the locket, Ron," said Hermione, her voice unusually high. "Please take it off. You wouldn't be talking like this if you hadn't been wearing it all day."

"Yeah, he would," said Harry, who did not want excuses made for Ron. "D'you think I haven't noticed the two of you whispering behind my and Ginny's backs? D'you think I didn't guess you were thinking this stuff?"

"Harry, we weren't…"

"Don't lie!" Ron hurled at her. "You said it too, you said you were disappointed, you said you'd thought he had a bit more to go on than…"

"I didn't say it like that… Harry, I didn't!" she cried.

The rain was pounding the tent, tears were pouring down Hermione's face, and the excitement of a few minutes before had vanished as if it had never been, a short-lived firework that had flared and died, leaving everything dark, wet, and cold. The sword of Gryffindor was hidden they knew not where, and they were four teenagers in a tent whose only achievement was not, yet, to be dead.

"So why are you still here?" Harry asked Ron.

"Search me," said Ron.

"Go home then," said Harry.

"Yeah, maybe I will!" shouted Ron, and he took several steps toward Harry, who did not back away. "Didn't you hear what Phineas said about the others? But you don't give a rat's fart, do you, it's only the Forbidden Forest, Harry I've-Faced-Worse Potter doesn't care what happens to Neville and Luna in there… well, I do, all right, giant spiders and mental stuff…"

"I was only saying… they were with Hagrid… at least it wasn't the Cruciatus Curse…"

"Yeah, I get it, you don't care! And what Mundungus? They sent him to Azkaban for trying to help _you_ , but you don't care about that either, do you?"

"Yeah, I…"

"Ron!" said Ginny, forcing her way between them. "You can't blame Harry for Mundungus getting arrested! Harry didn't _ask_ Dung to break into Hogwarts and steal the Sword of Gryffindor for him…"

"No you're right," said Ron sarcastically, "I'm sure he was just stealing it because of his great love of magical history…"

"Besides!" said Ginny, now enraged herself, "this is a _war_ , Ron, and You-Know-Who controls the Ministry, there are bound to be a few casualties!"

"Oh, yeah, those nameless, faceless casualties, who cares about them so long as they aren't you or the people _you_ care about! Kreacher and Mundungus and the rest are just a few _casualties_ , is that how you'd feel if it was Mum or Dad or Fred or George…"

"No of course not!" said Hermione pleadingly, "but it _wasn't_ them…"

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to listen to _Potterwatch_ in dread every day, your families are all accounted for…"

"My parents are _dead_!" Harry bellowed.

"And mine could be going the same way! You've already endangered my sister, what's a few more family members? Just so long as it's for the proper _cause_!"

"I chose to come!" Ginny screamed back, her hand inching toward her wand. "Harry didn't force me to do anything, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm safe and sound here, even though _I'm_ the only one of us who's actually had to face Death Eaters!"

" _Safe and sound?_ " said Ron incredulously, pointing to the worn copy of the _Daily Prophet_ with Ginny's picture that was still laying on the coffee table. "Oh, silly me, I must have imagined the fact that _his_ plan left a Death Eater on your doorstep and put a bounty on your head!"

"If you're not happy with me, then GO!" roared Harry. "Go back to them, Mummy'll be able to feed you up and —"

Ron made a sudden movement: Harry reacted, but before either wand was clear of its owner's pocket, Hermione had raised her own.

" _Protego!_ " she cried, and an invisible shield expanded between Harry on the one side and Ron on the other; all of them were forced backward a few steps by the strength of the spell, and Harry and Ron glared from either side of the transparent barrier as though they were seeing each other clearly for the first time. Harry felt a corrosive hatred toward Ron: Something had broken between them.

"Leave the Horcrux," Harry said.

Ron wrenched the chain from over his head and cast the locket into a nearby chair. He turned to Hermione.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you staying, or what?"

"I…" She looked anguished. "Yes, yes, I'm staying. Ron, we said we'd go with Harry, we said we'd help…"

"I get it. You choose him."

"Ron, no, please come back, come back!"

She was impeded by her own Shield Charm; by the time she had removed it he had already stormed into the night. Harry stood quite still and silent, listening to her sobbing and calling Ron's name amongst the trees.

After a few minutes she returned, her sopping hair plastered to her face.

"He's g-g-gone! Disapparated!"


	17. Chapter 17: Moving Forward

The atmosphere in the tent was completely transformed after Ron's departure. At first, Hermione was almost totally silent. She sent Ron a couple of Patronus messages in the hours after he left, but Harry eventually asked her to stop, pointing out that they could no longer be sure that these messages wouldn't be overheard. In any event, Ron had not yet sent a response, and there was no reason to expect that more messages would change his mind. She reluctantly agreed to stop, but on more than one occasion over the next few days, Harry thought he heard quiet sobbing coming from the direction of her bunk.

Harry, for his part, was simply miserable. He had meant everything he said to Ron during their fight, but after Ron's outburst, Harry couldn't help but feel some responsibility for their apparent lack of progress. Ron's words ate at him in his mind: _We thought you knew what you were doing, we thought you had a real plan!_ Despite his aggressive reaction to Ron at the time, Harry had to admit that he too was frustrated. After all, he had been the one who talked to Dumbledore, he had been the one who got to see visions of Voldemort's past in the Pensieve, so it was he who was in the best position to make real headway. Still, he was extremely angry that Ron had abandoned him at the moment when he needed him most, and while Ginny did her best to cheer him up (and to take gratuitous shots at Ron), it didn't do much to make Harry feel better. He contented himself instead to dwell on Ron's recent moments of selfishness, in order to vindicate his sense of fury.

Over the next couple of weeks, Harry also found himself acting as a sort of middleman between his two remaining roommates. While he did not witness any arguing between Ginny and Hermione, he noticed that tension between the two of them was growing. Hermione had slowly returned to something resembling her usual self when she was alone with Harry, but she would go remarkably quiet whenever Ginny joined them. Ginny, on the other hand, seemed oddly terse during the few occasions where she had reason to talk to Hermione. Harry was used to acting as a peacemaker from his many years of dealing with Ron and Hermione's bickering, but this time even he was at a loss for how to smooth things over. He initially didn't dare bring it up for fear of sparking another row, but one afternoon while Hermione was taking a nap, he could no longer hold his tongue.

"Gin… what's going on with you and Hermione?"

Ginny looked at Harry with exasperation. "Well, other than her blaming me for Ron leaving, things are really excellent."

"She blamed _you_?"

"Well, not in so many words," Ginny admitted, "but I can just tell. She never wanted me to come, she always sided with Ron when we all would discuss how to proceed, and she hasn't been speaking to me recently, in case you haven't noticed…"

"I mean, I did notice a few things…"

"Which is rich," Ginny continued, "because it's really all _her_ fault."

"Wait… what do you mean?" Harry asked curiously.

"Come on, Harry! Maybe Ron wouldn't have ever gotten so angry if Hermione hadn't enabled him at every turn! They were talking behind our backs, you know, maybe if she'd spoken up for you or not sided with him every time he didn't want to include me, he would have realized that he was being thick."

Hermione rolled over in her bunk, which Harry found convenient, because he was already regretting starting this conversation. He had already lost one friend to this mission, and he was determined not to lose any more. He needed Hermione's knowledge and ability too much to risk her following Ron out the door. At the same time, he didn't want his girlfriend to be angry with him for siding against her again. At least for now, Harry thought it best to leave well enough alone, and hope that Hermione and Ginny would eventually make up.

Since no one was speaking much, Harry spent much of his time considering ways how they could possibly steal the Sword of Gryffindor from Gringotts. However, the general hopelessness of such a mission seemed to overwhelm him. Harry couldn't help but remember what Hagrid had once said to him: " _yeh'd be mad ter try and rob it_." While Harry was convinced that Snape had indeed hidden the sword at Gringotts, Harry thought it would be borderline reckless to break in without even knowing which vault he needed to rob. The more he thought about it, the less promising the lead they had gotten from Phineas seemed.

Harry welcomed their daily tune-ins to _Potterwatch_ , not only because they were a distraction from all of his problems, but also for the same reason Hermione seemed so much more eager to listen: to see if they would ever hear Ron's voice. Over the next couple of weeks, however, they heard neither Ron nor any mention of him. Harry considered this odd; he had figured that when Ron left, he would go into hiding with the rest of the Weasley family. But _Potterwatch_ continued as though the Order knew nothing about what had happened.

As the days stretched into weeks, and Harry's hopes to uncover the Sword of Gryffindor faded, his anger shifted from Ron to Dumbledore. Dumbledore had left Harry with basically nothing: no real plan, no tools to carry out the plan, and no help in figuring out how to execute the plan, other than Hermione and Ginny. Even though Harry knew that he should be using his spare time trying to learn as much as he could about Voldemort's past, he could not help but spend it reading _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_. And even though he knew he couldn't trust Rita Skeeter's words, or her portrayal of a young Dumbledore as power-hungry, neglectful of family, and prejudiced against Muggles, he couldn't help but feel betrayed by Dumbledore's lack of candor with him. How many hours had he and Dumbledore spent discussing Harry's life, Harry's responsibilities, Harry's mission, Harry's future? And not once had Dumbledore found it relevant to mention his own past, his own connections to Harry, or his own experiences fighting the Dark Arts. So as time passed, and especially on days where Harry was wearing the locket, Harry found it easy and satisfying to blame Dumbledore for everything, from their apparent lack of progress hunting Horcruxes to Ron's sudden departure.

Reading Rita Skeeter also reignited Harry's desire to visit Godric's Hollow. He decided to bring it up to Hermione one morning when it was Ginny's turn as lookout.

"Hermione, I've been thinking, and…"

"Harry, could you help me with something?"

Apparently she had not been listening to him. She leaned forward and held out _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_.

"Look at that symbol," she said, pointing to the top of a page. Above what Harry assumed was the title of the story (being unable to read runes, he could not be sure), there was a picture of what looked like a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line.

"I never took Ancient Runes, Hermione."

"I know that, but it isn't a rune and it's not in the syllabary, either. All along I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I don't think it is! It's been inked in, look, somebody's drawn it there, it isn't really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?"

"No… No, wait a moment." Harry looked closer. "Isn't it the same symbol Luna's dad was wearing round his neck?"

"Well, that's what I thought too!"

"Then it's Grindelwald's mark."

She stared at him, openmouthed.

"What?"

"Krum told me…" He recounted the story that Viktor Krum had told him at the wedding. Hermione looked astonished.

" _Grindelwald's_ mark?"

She looked from Harry to the weird symbol and back again. "I've never heard that Grindelwald had a mark. There's no mention of it in anything I've ever read about him."

"Well, like I say, Krum reckoned that symbol was carved on a wall at Durmstrang, and Grindelwald put it there."

She fell back into the old armchair, frowning. "That's very odd. If it's a symbol of Dark Magic, what's it doing in a book of children's stories?"

"Yeah, it is weird," said Harry. "And you'd think Scrimgeour would have recognized it. He was Minister, he ought to have been expert on Dark stuff."

"I know… Perhaps he thought it was an eye, just like I did. All the other stories have little pictures over the titles."

She did not speak, but continued to pore over the strange mark. Harry tried again.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"I've been thinking. I… I want to go to Godric's Hollow."

"Why? I don't know if it's the best idea, Harry."

"I just feel like I need to go there," Harry argued. "Plus, Bathilda Bagshot lives there, and Rita Skeeter's book mentions that she knew Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Maybe she'll know something about the symbol in your book! You can ask her about it!"

Hermione looked anguished. "Well… why don't you and Ginny go?"

"You don't want to?" Harry asked, slightly crestfallen.

"Well, I think it's better…"

"You know what, it's fine," said Harry, slightly annoyed. As he heard Ginny cough outside, he suddenly realized the reason behind Hermione's hesitation. "The last thing I need is the two of you having a row."

Hermione seemed confused at his strong reaction, but also a bit relieved. With a small smile, she said, "Thanks Harry. Good luck."


	18. Chapter 18: Where It All Began

Harry and Ginny, under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion, Apparated onto a snowy lane within the village of Godric's Hollow. Harry had transformed into a balding, middle-aged Muggle man, Ginny his small and rather mousy wife. They made their way forward, the icy air stinging their faces as they passed small cottages: Any one of them might have been the one in which his parents had once lived, or where Bathilda lived now. Then the little lane along which they were walking curved to the left and the heart of the village, a small square, was revealed to them. Suddenly, a small white church came into view… with a graveyard right behind it.

"Harry?" Ginny whispered. "Do you… do you think they might be in there?" She quickly reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly as they slowly walked towards the church. There was a kissing gate at the entrance to the graveyard. Ginny pushed it open as quietly as possible and Harry gazed around at the many rows of snowy tombstones. Keeping his hand closed tightly on the wand in his jacket pocket, Harry moved toward the nearest grave and began looking for his parents. They split up as they waded deeper and deeper into the graveyard, gouging dark tracks into the snow behind them, stooping to peer at the words on old headstones, every now and then squinting into the surrounding darkness to make absolutely sure that they weren't being watched.

"Harry!" said Ginny after a few minutes. Harry's heart felt like it was beating twice as fast as usual as he made his way over to where Ginny stood.

"What?"

"Look at this! Isn't this the mark Hermione was talking about?"

The grave was extremely old, weathered so that Harry could hardly make out the name. He peered at the place she indicated: The stone was so worn that it was hard to make out what was engraved there, though there did seem to be a triangular mark beneath the nearly illegible name.

"Yeah… it could be…"

Ginny lit her wand and pointed it at the name on the headstone.

"It says Ignotus… Ignotus Peverell…"

However, at this moment, Harry did not think he could possibly care any less about the mysterious symbol. "I'm going to keep looking for my parents," Harry muttered, and he set off again, leaving her crouched beside the old grave.

Deeper and deeper amongst the graves he went, and every time he reached a new headstone he felt a little lurch of apprehension and anticipation. Then Ginny's voice came out of the blackness again, and this time it was quieter and more somber. "Harry… come over here."

Harry knew by her tone that it was his mother and father this time: He moved toward her, feeling as if something heavy were pressing on his chest, the same sensation he had had right after Dumbledore had died, a grief that had actually weighed on his heart and lungs.

The headstone was made of white marble, just like Dumbledore's tomb, and this made it easy to read, as it seemed to shine in the dark. Harry did not need to kneel or even approach very close to it to make out the words engraved upon it.

JAMES POTTER LILY POTTER

BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

 _The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

All of a sudden, the grief that Harry had been holding back since they arrived came rushing to the surface. They were gone. His parents' moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. Tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near. They did not and could not know that his heart was still beating, alive because of their sacrifice, or that he was close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them. So many had sacrificed so much for him: his mother, his father, Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, Bill, Moody, George, Kreacher, Mundungus. Yet what had any of it accomplished? Voldemort controlled Hogwarts and the Ministry. Almost everyone who he loved were either dead, in hiding, or imprisoned. And here Harry was, not even able to visit his parents' graves properly, trapped instead inside this Muggle's body.

Ginny had taken his hand again and was gripping it tightly. Harry did not want her to see him crying, but he returned the pressure, now taking deep, sharp gulps of the night air, trying to steady himself, trying to regain control. Finally, he turned to Ginny, who also had tears in her eyes as she gazed into his as lovingly as he could ever remember.

Harry struggled for another moment before he whispered, "Ginny… I'm glad that you were here with me."

Ginny managed to give him a small teary smile before saying "I love you, Harry." They embraced again and Harry suddenly realized how glad he was that it was just the two of them here. In a strange way, it felt like he was bringing Ginny home to his parents.

Harry did not think he could stand another moment there. He put his arm around Ginny's shoulders, and she put hers around his waist, and they turned in silence and walked away through the snow, back toward the dark church and the out-of-sight kissing gate.

They glanced back repeatedly as they made their way out of the graveyard. Harry was glad to reach the gate and the slippery pavement. They walked as quickly as they dared, past more windows sparkling with multicolored lights, the outlines of Christmas trees dark through the curtains.

"Did Rita Skeeter's book mention where Bathilda lives?" asked Ginny, who was shivering a little and kept glancing back over her shoulder.

She tugged at his arm, but Harry was not paying attention. He was looking toward the dark mass that stood at the very end of this row of houses. Next moment he had sped up, dragging Ginny along with him; she slipped a little on the ice.

"Harry!"

"Look, Ginny."

The hedge had grown wild in the sixteen years since Hagrid had taken Harry from the rubble that lay scattered amongst the waist-high grass. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark ivy and snow, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart; that, Harry was sure, was where the curse had backfired. He and Ginny stood at the gate, gazing up at the wreck of what must once have been a cottage just like those that flanked it.

Harry grasped the snowy and thickly rusted gate, not wishing to open it, but simply to hold some part of the house.

"Wow, Harry, look!"

Ginny gasped as she gazed near the place where his hand was resting. A sign had risen out of the ground in front of them, up through the tangles of nettles and weeds, like some bizarre, fast-growing flower, and in golden letters upon the wood it said:

" _On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family_."

And all around these neatly lettered words, scribbles had been added by other witches and wizards who had come to see the place where the Boy Who Lived had escaped. Some had merely signed their names in Everlasting Ink; others had carved their initials into the wood, still others had left messages. The most recent of these, shining brightly over sixteen years' worth of magical graffiti, all said similar things.

" _Good luck, Harry, wherever you are_ "

" _If you read this, Harry, we're all behind you!_ "

" _Long live Harry Potter_."

"I'm so glad I saw this Ginny. It's good to know that there are still people out there who believe in me, who still want things to be right again. I…"

He broke off. A heavily muffled figure was hobbling up the lane toward them, silhouetted by the bright lights in the distant square.

 _A/N: I kept a lot more of JKR's words than usual in this chapter, because I think it's one of the more beautiful chapters that she's ever written. Plus, this is a part of the story that probably wouldn't have changed much with Ginny here. However, don't expect things to be so familiar for much longer!_


	19. Chapter 19: A Costly Escape

Harry and Ginny followed Bathilda Bagshot into a run-down cottage down the lane. The place was covered in dust and dirt, and smelled as if it hadn't been cared for in several months. Harry and Ginny looked at each other in disgust, but Harry was determined to find out anything he could from this woman. It was his one lead, and he wasn't going to let it slip away, even with his growing sense that something was amiss.

Bathilda now shuffled a few steps closer to Harry. With a little jerk of her head she looked back into the hall.

"You want us to leave?" he asked.

She repeated the gesture, this time pointing firstly at him, then at herself, then at the ceiling.

"Oh, right… Ginny, I think she wants me to go upstairs with her."

When Harry and Ginny began to follow her, Bathilda shook her head with surprising vigor, once more pointing first at Harry, then to herself.

"She wants me to go with her, alone."

Ginny looked at Harry curiously. "Why do you think…"

"I don't know, but… maybe we should just go with it," Harry said with a shrug.

"Okay, I'll wait down here. Harry, be careful."

Harry followed Bathilda upstairs and into a small bedroom next to the landing. His sense of foreboding was growing; something just didn't seem right.

"You are Potter?" she whispered.

"Yes, I am."

She nodded slowly, solemnly. Harry felt the locket beating fast against his chest, faster than his own heart: It was an unpleasant, agitating sensation.

"Have you got anything for me?" Harry asked.

Then she closed her eyes and several things happened at once: Harry's scar prickled painfully; the Horcrux twitched so that the front of his sweater actually moved; the dark, fetid room dissolved momentarily. He felt a leap of joy and spoke in a high, cold voice: _Hold him!_

Harry swayed where he stood: The dark, foul-smelling room seemed to close around him again; he did not know what had just happened. "Have you got anything for me?" he asked again, much louder.

"There," she said, pointing at a shapeless mass of what appeared to be dirty laundry.

Harry peered at it, and in the instant that he looked away, she moved weirdly: He saw it out of the corner of his eye; panic made him turn and horror paralyzed him as he saw the old body collapsing and the great snake pouring from the place where her neck had been. The snake struck as he raised his wand: The force of the collision against his forearm sent the wand spinning up toward the ceiling. Then a powerful blow from the tail to his midriff knocked the breath out of him: He fell backward against a dressing table, into the mound of filthy clothing. He rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the snake's tail, which thrashed down upon the table where he had been a second earlier: Fragments of the glass surface rained upon him as he hit the floor.

From below he heard Ginny yell, "Harry!" and the sound of her rushing up the stairs. He could not get enough breath into his lungs to call back: Then a heavy smooth mass smashed him to the floor and he felt it slide over him, powerful, muscular…

"No!" he gasped, pinned to the floor.

" _Yes_ ," whispered the voice. " _Yesss_ … _hold you_ … _hold you_ …"

" _Accio_ … _Accio Wand_ …" But nothing happened and he needed his hands to try to force the snake from him as it coiled itself around his torso, squeezing the air from him, pressing the Horcrux hard into his chest, a circle of ice that throbbed with life, inches from his own frantic heart, and his brain was flooding with cold, white light, all thought obliterated, his own breath drowned, distant footsteps, everything going...

A metal heart was banging outside his chest, and now he was flying, flying with triumph in his heart, without need of broomstick or thestral…

He was abruptly awake in the sour-smelling darkness; Nagini had released him. He scrambled up and saw the snake outlined against the landing light: It struck, and Ginny moaned in obvious pain. Harry bent and snatched up his wand, but now the room was full of the snake, its tail thrashing.

Ginny was nowhere to be seen and for a moment Harry thought the worst, but then there was a loud bang and a flash of red light, and the snake flew into the air, smacking Harry hard in the face as it went, coil after heavy coil rising up to the ceiling. Harry raised his wand, but as he did so, his scar seared more painfully, more powerfully than it had done in years. " _He's coming! Ginny, he's coming!_ " As he yelled, the snake fell, hissing wildly. Everything was chaos: It smashed shelves from the wall, and splintered china flew everywhere as Harry jumped over the bed and seized the dark shape he knew to be Ginny…

She shrieked with pain as he pulled her back across the bed: The snake reared again, but Harry knew that worse than the snake was coming, was perhaps already at the gate, his head was going to split open with the pain from his scar. Harry felt a jolt in his head as he heard a door burst open below, and the sound of frantic footsteps up the stairs…

The snake lunged as Harry took a running leap, dragging Ginny with him, who seemed to be unconscious. Harry leapt from bed to broken dressing table and then straight out of the smashed window into nothingness, Harry rushing to concentrate on the hillside where the tent and Hermione waited as they twisted in midair.

 _And then his scar burst open and he was Voldemort and he was running across the fetid bedroom, his long white hands clutching at the windowsill as he glimpsed the bald man and the little woman twist and vanish, and he screamed with rage. And his scream was Harry's scream, his pain was Harry's pain… That it could happen here, where it had happened before … here, within sight of that house where he had come so close to knowing what it was to die... to die... The pain was so terrible... ripped from his body..._

But if he had no body, why did his head hurt so badly? If he was dead, how could he feel so unbearably, didn't pain cease with death, didn't it go…

Harry awoke with a start, shivering as sweat poured down his face. He looked around and saw trees and a small creek and a familiar tent… _They had escaped!_ One look at Ginny told him that she was still unconscious, with another large gash on her head. Then Harry noticed to his horror that her blouse was torn and there was a bite wound on her shoulder drenched in blood. Harry panicked, remembering the difficulty that St. Mungo's healers had had trying to close similar wounds on Arthur Weasley. _Not Ginny, not Ginny, please not Ginny_ …

Hoping against hope that none of Nagini's venom had entered Ginny's body, he rushed into the tent, grabbed Hermione's handbag, screamed " _Accio Dittany!_ " and rushed back to Ginny's side. Harry watched to his immense relief as the wound seemed to close up and fade as he applied the Dittany. Harry called for Hermione to help him as he gently raised Ginny and carried her onto her bunk. As soon as he managed to lay her down, he collapsed into the chair next to her, when he suddenly felt a rush of hatred which was not his own…

 _Harry cursed the body of the old woman in his rage. He walked quickly down the stairs, Nagini around his shoulders, about to depart when suddenly he saw her, the Mudblood who he'd heard about from Lucius and Draco, who was rumored to be travelling with the boy. Her eyes widened in fear as she raised her wand, but he was too quick for her. A jet of red light flew from his wand and she fell to the ground. Harry picked up her unconscious body, whispered "At least it wasn't a total loss, my sweet" and Disapparated…_

Harry again awoke abruptly, dread overwhelming him. He dashed into the kitchen, and, seeing nothing, rushed outside, only to find that the hillside was also deserted. A few more minutes of frantic searching were ultimately fruitless, before Harry had to accept the truth.

Hermione was gone.


	20. Chapter 20: A New Low

It wasn't until the next morning that Harry finally pieced together what had happened. He stood vigil over Ginny overnight, desperately hoping that her condition wouldn't take a turn for the worse. When Ginny finally woke up the next morning, he told her everything that had happened since they'd returned, including his vision about Hermione. She tearfully told him that while she was waiting in Bathilda's sitting room, she heard a commotion upstairs, summoned Hermione's help with a Patronus, then rushed upstairs. When she arrived, Bathilda was gone, and Harry was being enveloped by the great snake. She managed to fire a curse at Nagini to get her to release him, but then the snake attacked her, first smacking her in the stomach with its tail, then biting her in the shoulder. She managed to fire another curse at it, but as it was forced away she was hit in the head and was knocked out.

Harry did not initially understand why Nagini's venom had not penetrated Ginny's body. He pulled Hermione's copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_ out of the handbag to investigate, but not knowing what type of snake Nagini was, there was only so much he could learn. He read that not all bites by venomous snakes are venomous, and that some snakes even have the ability to choose whether to secrete venom or not. Perhaps Nagini was simply trying to immobilize them until Voldemort got there, or perhaps Ginny's quick action had forced the snake off of her before it could inject the venom. Either way, there were no signs that Ginny's wounds were reopening like Mr. Weasley's had two years earlier, and she showed no other symptoms of having been poisoned. But she was still extremely lightheaded from her head wound, so Harry insisted on wearing the locket and taking over the watch indefinitely until she felt better.

Harry hoped that understanding what had happened would make him feel better, but it only made him even more dejected. Now he knew beyond all doubt that Hermione's capture was his fault. If _he_ hadn't insisted on going to Godric's Hollow, they never would have been attacked, and Hermione never would have had to come after them. If _he_ hadn't insisted that Ginny stay downstairs, he would have been aware that she'd sent a Patronus to Hermione, and then known he needed to come back for her. If _he_ hadn't been so frustrated by Ginny and Hermione's fight, he would've tried harder to get them to reconcile, and Hermione would have been with them all along. Now, she was a captive of Voldemort, trapped in some unknown location, and Harry was in no position to mount a rescue. He couldn't even be sure that Hermione was still alive, a thought that Harry tried all too hard not to consider.

Even taking the locket off didn't ease Harry's guilt, if anything it just made him more painfully aware of his feelings of concern and frustration. He was disturbed even more by occasional jolts of rage and twinges from his scar, which he desperately hoped weren't Hermione-related. He tried to occupy his mind by caring for Ginny, but she was not a very good distraction. She was much quieter and gloomier than usual, and Harry sensed that she herself was feeling guilty, for having summoned Hermione's help.

Their hours of brainstorming where Voldemort could possibly have taken Hermione were no more fruitful than their guesses at where the remaining Horcruxes were located. So even when Ginny's health improved enough that she was able to walk and travel as normal, they were not prepared to take any kind of action. After about a week, Harry sat listening to _Potterwatch_ when a new idea struck him.

"Ginny, why don't we try and contact somebody from the Order to help us?"

"How?" said Ginny, playing with the locket absentmindedly. "We know that they're all in hiding…"

"We ran into Dung and Lee that day in Diagon Alley!" Harry exclaimed, desperate for a plan.

"But how are we going to get in there now that The Leaky Cauldron is closed?"

"I don't know," said Harry, frustrated. "Floo Powder?"

"The Ministry is sure to be watching the Floo Network!" Ginny cried. "And you're Undesirable No. 1!"

"Well why don't we Apparate back to the Burrow? Maybe your family is still there?"

"It's sure to be under surveillance too!" said Ginny impatiently. "You know that!"

"We have to do something!"

"Well we can't be reckless! We both know you're the one You-Know-Who's really after!"

"So let him find me!" bellowed Harry. "I've had enough, I don't care anymore! Maybe if he does, the rest of you will be able to flee the country or something! Enough people have suffered because of me!"

"This is bigger than you, Harry!" Ginny shot back. "In case you haven't noticed, we all want to see You-Know-Who beaten, and I'm not about to let you screw it up just to soothe your guilt!"

Harry turned his back on her, seething. She couldn't understand what he was going through, couldn't understand what it was like to be marked, to watch everyone you cared for suffer because of you. Hermione was just the latest on the list: his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore…

 _Dumbledore_. Harry felt another rush of anger just thinking about him. If his plan hadn't been so ill-conceived, if he hadn't counted too much on Harry being able to carry on without him, _if he hadn't trusted Severus Snape_ , Hermione wouldn't be in such grave danger. Harry almost wanted Rita Skeeter's words to be true, it gave Harry something to blame other than his own mistakes.

Suddenly sensing Harry's pain, Ginny pulled the Horcrux off her neck, walked over to him, and brought him into a long hug. Harry found himself weeping into her shoulder, letting it all out in a way that he rarely did. All of his feelings of anger, fear, regret, worry, and frustration came rushing to the surface as he stood there holding Ginny, whether for a few seconds or a few hours he neither knew nor cared. When they finally broke apart, Harry looked at Ginny and felt better for the first time, immensely grateful that he still had someone to share his burdens and to remind him that all was not, yet, lost.

"I'm sorry, Gin, you're right… We need to think this through and do it right."

"We'll find her Harry. I'll keep watch tonight, go ahead and get some sleep. You look exhausted."

He gave her a small smile and climbed into his bunk, not realizing until this moment just how little sleep he'd gotten over the past several days. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

" _Tell me where he is!"_

" _You're wasting your time!"_

" _You dare defy Lord Voldemort?"_

" _I won't tell you anything!"_

" _Crucio!"_

 _Harry watched the boy writhe in pain, but it brought him no satisfaction. He was frustrated that even capturing the Potter boy's friends had brought him no closer to finding him._

" _You will tell me, or you'll watch that Mudblood friend of yours die!"_

" _You won't touch her again!"_

 _He felt himself hurtling again through a pair of pupils, and saw the Burrow, and the Black house, and a small tent erected in a forest he did not recognize, with Potter and a red-haired girl sitting and laughing in front of it…_

" _Where is the tent?" he said with glee._

 _Ronald Weasley's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't back down. "I… I don't know what you're talking about!"_

 _Harry let out a high, cold, mirthless laugh. "Do you really expect to deceive Lord Voldemort with all of these pathetic lies?"_

" _I'm not lying."_

 _But Harry was no longer listening. He turned to the cackling woman standing next to him. "Where's Lucius? Tell him to fetch the Mudblood, perhaps that will loosen Mr. Weasley's tongue…"_

" _I don't know where he is!" said Ron desperately._

 _But as Bellatrix rushed away, Harry looked into his captive's mind again, and realized that this time, he was telling the truth. He sent another curse at him in his fury…_


	21. Chapter 21: Help from Nowhere

Harry again awoke suddenly, covered in sweat, and hesitantly walked outside to tell Ginny what he had seen. She once again took the news in stride, but Harry sensed that she was hiding a great deal of worry and stress from him. The two resolved that they would have to go after Ron and Hermione sooner than they had originally planned. Harry was now hopeful that they could manage, because along with dismay at learning that Ron was also a captive of Lord Voldemort, he felt jubilation at learning where he and Hermione were being held. On the wall of the room Harry had seen, there was a portrait of a medieval wizard with cold grey eyes and a pale, pointed face. After six years of seeing that face at Hogwarts, Harry knew that it was an ancestor of his long-time Hogwarts adversary: Draco Malfoy.

But knowing that Ron and Hermione were being held at the Malfoy home did not do much to help Harry and Ginny get there. Neither of them had ever visited the Malfoy's home before, so they didn't know exactly _where_ it was. Plus, Harry remembered Dumbledore once telling him that most Wizarding dwellings have magical protection against unwanted Apparitions. He and Ginny wracked their brains for several hours before the answer came to him.

"Dobby!"

"What?" said Ginny, confused.

"Dobby!" Harry exclaimed. He used to serve the Malfoys! He knows where they live!"

"Oh, good thinking Harry!" said Ginny excitedly. "Can you call him?"

"I don't know," said Harry, "I'm not his master, so I don't know he'll know. But it's worth a try… _Dobby!_ "

Harry and Ginny froze, waiting hopefully for the familiar _crack_ and arrival of the friendly house-elf, but nothing happened.

"Oh well," said Harry, "we can just go visit him at Hogwarts!"

"Harry, Snape is headmaster now, we can't just walk in the front doors!"

But Harry's grin didn't leave his face. "Blimey Gin, I forgot, you don't know about the secret passageway!"

Harry rushed over to Hermione's handbag and pulled out the Marauder's Map. Harry quickly unfurled it and showed Ginny the tunnel behind the statue of the one-eyed witch that led to the Honeydukes cellar.

"So we just need to Apparate to Hogsmeade, and then sneak into Honeydukes under the Cloak!"

"I don't know," said Ginny apprehensively, "don't you think there will be extra security?"

"Fred and George told me that Filch doesn't know about this passageway," said Harry with a shrug, "I don't see any reason why Snape would know better than he did. Plus, Fred, George, and I have used it loads of times, and Snape never caught us!"

"Well, we'd better get going then!" Ginny replied, now convinced.

Harry felt a rush of exhilaration, but when he looked outside he saw that it was nearly dusk. With a frown, he said, "We'd better wait, Gin. We probably shouldn't break into the shop when it isn't open, I don't want to alert the owners before we can get back out."

"Oh all right," said Ginny, crestfallen, "well come and keep watch with me, Harry, and we can make a plan!"

Harry and Ginny sat outside together for the first time in weeks, and although it was rather cold, it felt good to finally be making noticeable progress. He had just finished telling Ginny about the portrait of fruit that led to the Hogwarts kitchens when a bright silver light appeared right ahead of them, moving through the trees. Harry screwed up his eyes as the light became blinding, the trees in front of it pitch-black in silhouette, and still the thing came closer… Then, the source of the light stepped out from behind an oak. It was a silver-white doe, moon-bright and dazzling, picking her way over the ground, still silent, and leaving no hoofprints in the fine powdering of snow.

She stepped toward them, her beautiful head with its wide, long-lashed eyes held high. Harry stared at the creature, filled with wonder, not at her strangeness, but at her inexplicable familiarity. He felt that he had been waiting for her to come, but that he had forgotten, until this moment, that they had arranged to meet. They gazed at each other for several long moments and then she turned and walked away. "No!" Harry shouted, "Come back!" She continued to step deliberately through the trees, and soon her brightness was striped by their thick black trunks.

Caution murmured it could be a trick, a lure, a trap. But instinct, overwhelming instinct, told Harry that this was not Dark Magic. He suddenly set off in pursuit, Ginny a couple of steps behind him. Snow crunched beneath their feet, but the doe made no noise as she passed through the trees, for she was nothing but light. Deeper and deeper into the forest she led them, and Harry walked quickly, sure that when she stopped, she would allow him to approach her properly. At last, she came to a halt. She turned her beautiful head toward him once more, and he broke into a run, a question burning in him, but as he opened his lips to ask it, she vanished.

Though the darkness had swallowed the doe whole, her image was still imprinted on Harry's retinas; it obscured his vision, brightening when he lowered his eyelids, disorienting him. " _Lumos!_ " Ginny whispered, and her wand-tip ignited. The imprint of the doe faded away with every blink of Harry's eyes as he stood there, listening to the sounds of the forest, to distant crackles of twigs, soft swishes of snow. Concern suddenly flooded back into Harry's mind. Were they about to be attacked? Had she enticed them into an ambush? Was he imagining that somebody stood beyond the reach of the wandlight, watching them? But nobody ran out, no flash of green light burst from behind a tree. Why, then, had she led him to this spot? But as soon as Harry had asked the question to himself, Ginny shouted, "Harry, look!"

Something gleamed in the light of the wand, and Harry spun about, but all that was there was a small, frozen pool, its cracked black surface glittering in the wandlight. He moved forward rather cautiously and looked down. The ice reflected his distorted shadow and the beam of light, but deep below the thick, misty gray carapace, something else glinted. A great silver cross... His heart skipped into his mouth: He dropped to his knees at the pool's edge and told Ginny to angle her wand so as to flood the bottom of the pool with as much light as possible. A glint of deep red... It was a sword with glittering rubies in its hilt... The sword of Gryffindor was lying at the bottom of the forest pool.

Harry pointed his wand at the silvery shape and murmured, " _Accio Sword_." It did not stir. He had not expected it to. If it had been that easy, the sword would have lain on the ground for him to pick up, not in the depths of a frozen pool. As Harry turned to ask what Ginny thought they should do, however, he was shocked to see that she was jumping headfirst into the icy water.

Harry chortled loudly at her nerve. But he scanned their surroundings again, still unable to shake the sensation that someone was watching them. However, he still could not see anyone or anything in the trees. How was this possible? How could the sword have come to be lying in a forest pool, this close to the place where they were camping? Had some unknown magic drawn Harry to this spot, or was the doe, which he had taken to be a Patronus, some kind of guardian of the pool? Or had the sword been put into the pool after they had arrived, precisely because they were here? In which case, where was the person who had wanted to pass it to Harry? Confusion filled Harry's mind as he returned his attention to Ginny and the frozen pool.

Ginny still had not emerged from the water. Harry dropped to his knees to get a better look at what was happening, when he suddenly was filled with horror as he noticed Ginny, sword in hand, struggling with something around her neck. _The locket was strangling her_.

Without a second thought, Harry jumped into the water after her. By the time he was completely submerged, Ginny's face had turned slightly blue. Harry rushed to cut the chain off her neck, grab her around the waist, and summoned all his remaining strength to hoist her body upward onto the snowy forest floor.

The two lay there coughing for several seconds, shivering violently in the bitterly cold night air, before Ginny rushed to Harry and kissed him fervently. "Harry," she finally breathed, "oh my… I thought I was going to drown!"

"So did I," Harry panted, "that Horcrux isn't going down without a fight, is it?"


	22. Chapter 22: Ginny's Biggest Fear

When he finally caught his breath, Harry felt a new wave of excitement. _Finally_ , he thought, _they'd be rid of this thing that caused them so much pain and misery_. As he placed the locket onto a tree stump, however, he realized that something wasn't right.

"You should do it, Gin."

Ginny gaped at him, looking at the locket with trepidation. "I don't think so, Harry. Don't you remember what happened to me when I had the diary?"

But Harry felt no reservations. "Ginny, you can do this. You aren't a shy, scared 11-year-old girl any more. It's meant to be you, I know it."

Ginny still looked a bit apprehensive, but she braced herself and tightened her grip on the hilt of Gryffindor's sword. Harry looked at the locket and instinctively knew what to do.

"Ready? One… two… three… _open_ ," he finished in Parseltongue.

The locket swung wide with a little click. Behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye, dark and handsome as Tom Riddle's eyes had been before he turned them scarlet and slit-pupiled.

"Stab it," said Harry, holding the locket steady on the stump. Ginny raised the sword, the point dangling over the frantically swiveling eyes, and Harry gripped the locket tightly, bracing himself, already imagining blood pouring from the empty windows.

Then a voice hissed from out of the Horcrux. " _I have seen your heart, and it is mine._ "

"Don't listen to it!" Harry said quickly. "Stab it!"

" _I have seen your dreams, Ginevra Weasley, and I have seen your fears. All you desire is possible, but all that you dread is also possible..._ "

"Stab!" shouted Harry; his voice echoed off the surrounding trees, the sword point trembled, and Ginny gazed down into Riddle's eyes. Her expression reminded him of the nervous, star-struck little girl that had been victimized by Tom Riddle's diary.

" _Insignificant, always, compared to brothers with real achievements… Delusional, now, to consider yourself worthy of the attention of the Chosen One… Always in need of rescue, never able to truly match up…_ "

"Ginny, stab it now!" Harry bellowed. He could feel the locket quivering in his grip, scared of what was coming. Ginny raised the sword still higher, and as she did so, Riddle's eyes gleamed scarlet. Out of the locket's two windows, out of the eyes, there bloomed, like two grotesque bubbles, the heads of Harry and Hermione, weirdly distorted. Ginny yelled in shock and backed away as the figures blossomed out of the locket, first chests, then waists, then legs, until they stood in the locket, side by side like trees with a common root, swaying over Ginny and the real Harry, who had snatched his fingers away from the locket as it burned, suddenly, white-hot.

"Ginny!" he shouted again, but the Riddle-Harry was now speaking with Voldemort's voice and she was gazing, mesmerized, into its face.

" _Look at you, simple girl, thinking that I might ever reciprocate your feelings. I always laughed behind your back at your gullibility, your naiveté, to think that you could ever be worth my attention…_ "

" _You've been nothing but a burden,_ " the Riddle-Hermione continued, who was more beautiful and yet more terrible than the real Hermione: She swayed, cackling, before Ginny, who looked horrified yet transfixed, the sword hanging pointlessly at her side. " _Who would want you, who would ever want your help? What have you ever done, other than put yourself in danger and cry for the help of those who were more intelligent, more skilled, more accomplished? You always thought we left you behind to protect you, when really, we knew you'd just mess things up…_ "

"Ginny, stab it, STAB IT!" Harry yelled, but she did not move: Her eyes were wide, and the Riddle-Harry and the Riddle-Hermione were reflected in them, their hair swirling like flames, their eyes shining red, their voices lifted in an evil duet.

" _I always wondered_ ," sneered Riddle-Harry, while Riddle-Hermione jeered, " _how long it would take for you to realize you were merely a placeholder, nothing more, here to comfort me until I can pursue my_ true _love…_ "

" _You are nothing, nothing, nothing to him_ ," crooned Riddle-Hermione, and she stretched like a snake and entwined herself around Riddle-Harry, wrapping him in a close embrace: Their lips met. On the ground in front of them, Ginny's face filled with rage. She raised the sword high, her arms shaking.

"It's lying, Ginny!" Harry yelled. Ginny looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of scarlet in her eyes. "… Ginny?"

The sword flashed, plunged: Harry threw himself out of the way, there was a clang of metal and a long, drawn-out scream. Harry whirled around, slipping in the snow, wand held ready to defend himself: but there was nothing to fight.

The monstrous versions of himself and Hermione were gone: There was only Ginny, standing there with the sword held slackly in her hand, looking down at the shattered remains of the locket on the flat rock. Slowly, Harry walked back to her, not knowing what to say or do. She was breathing heavily: Her eyes were no longer red at all, but their normal brown; they were also wet.

Harry stooped, pretending he had not seen, and picked up the broken Horcrux. Ginny had pierced the glass in both windows: Riddle's eyes were gone, and the stained silk lining of the locket was smoking slightly. The thing that had lived in the Horcrux had vanished; torturing Ginny had been its final act. The sword clanged as she dropped it. She was shaking, but not, Harry realized, from cold. Harry crammed the broken locket into his pocket, and placed his arm cautiously around her waist. She shuddered slightly, but Harry took it as a good sign that Ginny did not throw it off.

"It's not true," he said in a low voice, "you've been so brave, so loyal, so loving…" He could not finish; it was only now that he'd heard it for himself that Harry fully realized that Ginny still held her 11-year-old insecurities deep inside. "Hermione's like my sister," he went on. "I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like that. I thought you knew." Ginny did not respond, but clambered to her feet, eyes bloodshot but otherwise composed.

"I never really got over you," she said in a thick voice. "It's all an act, really, pretending that I'm not the same girl you rescued in the Chamber of Secrets…"

"You aren't the same," said Harry. "How many times have you fought side-by-side with me since then? The Department of Mysteries, The Astronomy Tower, Godric's Hollow…"

Ginny didn't respond.

"All I know is, if you weren't here now, I'd be lost," said Harry. "I need you more than Ron, more than Hermione, more than anyone..."

Ginny looked up at him, and finally managed a small smile. Harry kissed her, gripping the still-sopping back of Ginny's jacket.

"And now," said Harry as they broke apart, "we should get some sleep before we head to Hogsmeade tomorrow."

As he walked hand-in-hand with Ginny toward their campsite, Harry struggled to suppress a grin of his own, imagining how he would prove his affection to her when they got back inside the tent.


	23. Chapter 23: The Journey Home

Harry woke early the next morning, feeling well-rested for the first time since Godric's Hollow. He was careful not to wake Ginny as he reached across her to grab the Marauder's Map. He scanned it until he found what he was looking for: a tiny dot labelled "Dobby" was pacing back and forth in the Slytherin common room. The rest of the castle looked just as it always had, although Harry had to suppress a groan when he saw Severus Snape's dot in the headmaster's office.

By the time Ginny woke up, Harry had already gotten dressed and made their breakfast. He was growing nervous about what they were about to do, remembering the narrowness of their escapes at the Ministry and at Godric's Hollow. However, the memory of Hermione and Ron being captured and tortured by Voldemort burned inside him, and he had never felt more determined to succeed than he did at this moment.

When they were finally ready to go, Harry grabbed Ginny's arm and Disapparated. The next thing they knew, they were standing in a small, dark cave where he had once visited Sirius with Ron and Hermione. It was a bit more comfortable looking now than it had been then: an enormous cot was pushed up against one of the walls, and there was even some firewood stacked nearby. Harry chuckled as he remembered that Hagrid had also once hidden here after being sacked by Umbridge. Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag and threw it over himself and Ginny, then the two of them proceeded out along the mountain path.

"Why did we have to Apparate so far away?" said Ginny grumpily as they slowly made their way down.

"I just wanted to be sure that no one heard us," said Harry, trying to keep his balance as he stumbled on a piece of rock, "I can't Apparate as quietly as Hermione."

By the time they reached the outskirts of town, Harry was starting to shiver. It wasn't long before Ginny spotted the cause.

"Dementors!"

She was right, there were two dementors floating on the lane leading into the village. Harry stopped dead; he knew that dementors might be able to sense their presence, even under the Cloak.

"What are we going to do?" hissed Ginny urgently.

"We need to distract them somehow," whispered Harry. "Maybe we should wait until someone else comes outside?"

Harry and Ginny waited breathlessly. But twenty minutes passed, and still no one had emerged from any of the little cottages in front of them. Harry was hardly surprised; he was never eager to encounter dementors when he could avoid it. Eventually, they had no choice but to consider a new plan of action.

"Maybe we should use a Patronus?" suggested Ginny quietly.

"I don't know, I don't want to draw attention to ourselves," said Harry. "Surely the Death Eaters know by now that my Patronus is a stag."

"Well, I'll conjure it then!" said Ginny impatiently.

Before Harry could respond, Ginny had pulled out her wand and cried, " _Expecto Patronum!_ ". A silver horse burst out from her wand and gamboled straight at the dementors. Immediately the dementors scattered, and Harry felt a sudden burst of excitement as their way forward appeared clear. However, no sooner had he taken a step toward the High Street when a loud voice cried, "Trespasser!"

Three doors burst open, and Harry knew that they were in trouble. He grabbed Ginny's hand and dashed down the lane toward the High Street, desperately hoping that the Cloak was still covering them. He heard voices yelling behind him, but he was too focused on running as quickly as he could to make out what they were saying.

When they reached the High Street, the doors to several shops and cottages were ajar, and more people were out in the street. Some of them were wearing dark cloaks and had their wands raised, looking eagerly for the source of the noise. Others, however, were wearing dressing gowns, and appeared to be villagers who had been interrupted during their breakfasts by the sudden commotion. Harry saw to his delight that the door to Honeydukes was open, and dashed as quietly as he could into the sweet shop.

The store was deserted. He and Ginny tiptoed quickly downstairs toward the cellar, but when Harry reached the bottom stair it squeaked loudly. Suddenly, something in the cellar came crashing down and Harry heard the sound of footsteps.

"Who's there?" a woman called urgently.

Harry and Ginny froze in place. A mousy, middle-aged woman had rushed to the foot of the stairs, wand raised, looking for the source of the noise. Suddenly, a man whom Harry had seen outside was at the top of the stairs, and muttered, "What is it?"

"I heard a noise," the woman replied. "Is there anyone up there?"

"I don't see anyone…" said the man, but he crept away into the store to investigate further. Finally, the man's voice echoed from further away, "there's no one here!"

Harry had to stifle a sigh of relief, but suddenly tensed up again as the woman started walking straight toward them. He instinctively reached his arm across Ginny's chest and forced her against the wall; the woman missed running into them by inches. They stood breathlessly for another minute until they felt reasonably sure that the woman wouldn't return, then crept quietly into the cellar and down through the trap door.

"That was close!" Harry whispered as he pulled the Cloak off himself and Ginny.

But Ginny wasn't listening, she was marveling at the earthen passage they were now standing in. "Wow, so _this_ is how Fred and George used to get butterbeer into the common room!"

"Yeah, they told me," said Harry quietly. "Come on, let's go…"

The two of them slowly made the long walk toward the castle. After what seemed like ages, the dirt floor finally sloped upwards until it stopped just outside where Harry knew the one-eyed witch stood. He pulled out the Marauder's Map and muttered, " _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_."

The map appeared again. Harry scanned the third-floor corridor: there was only one dot currently nearby, labelled "Mrs. Norris."

"Alright, let's hurry up and go," said Ginny.

"I don't know," said Harry hesitantly, "I've always had the sense that Mrs. Norris could see through the Cloak."

"We have to take the chance, Harry, we're never going to get a better chance during a school day!"

She was right, there was no sense in waiting. He tapped the inside of the witch's hump and hoisted himself through, careful that he remained completely covered by the Invisibility Cloak.

As he stood up and looked around, the corridor was indeed deserted apart from Filch's cat, who was pacing near the door to the Charms corridor. Harry could hear Professor Flitwick's voice squeaking in a nearby classroom. The cat looked suspiciously in Harry's direction, but after a moment turned and walked away. When Mrs. Norris finally rounded a corner, Harry rushed back to the statue, tapped it with his wand, and muttered " _Dissendium_." He grabbed Ginny's hand, pulled her up through the opening, and threw the Cloak back over her.

"So where's Dobby now?" whispered Ginny.

Harry peered over the map again. Dobby was back in the kitchens with the other house-elves, probably preparing the students' lunches. Ginny silently nodded and the two set off.

It was another agonizingly slow walk. Harry and Ginny had to hide behind a suit of armor when Professor Slughorn passed them with a couple of Ravenclaws Harry didn't recognize. When they reached the entrance hall, Harry saw Professor Sprout having a hushed conversation with Peeves the Poltergeist.

"The Carrows have been using the Cruciatus Curse again…"

"Oooh, can Peevsie put dragon dung in their offices?"

"I left the greenhouses unlocked…"

Peeves zoomed away, cackling. Harry smirked at Ginny as they continued toward a door to the right of the marble staircase. They walked down stone steps into q brightly lit corridor, which held several portraits of different kind of food. Harry rushed to a portrait containing a bowl of fruit and tickled the pear, which squirmed and turned into a large green door handle. Harry pulled the door open, and he and Ginny slipped quietly into the kitchens.

None of the dozens of house-elves noticed the door open, they were all busy at work preparing food for the next meal. Harry scanned the room until he found what he was looking for: Dobby carving a large turkey about halfway along a duplicate Gryffindor house table. Harry and Ginny snuck up behind him, and Harry tapped him on the shoulder. When the elf jumped, Ginny whispered into his ear.

"Don't be afraid, Dobby. Do you want to see Harry Potter?"


	24. Chapter 24: Forming a Plan

Dobby turned around slowly, obviously trying hard to suppress his delight. Finally, he whispered, "yes, Dobby would like that very much!" A few of the house-elves nearby looked up curiously, but after a moment shook their heads and returned to their work.

"Don't say anything else," Harry breathed. "Just follow us out of the kitchens."

Harry and Ginny walked back toward the entrance as quickly and quietly as they could, Dobby bouncing happily behind them. When they got back to the portrait, they stood aside and let the elf push open the portrait and followed him out into the corridor. When the portrait closed behind them, Harry quickly made sure no one else was in the corridor before reaching out and pulling Dobby under the Invisibility Cloak.

"Harry Potter sir, Dobby is so happy that you've come back to visit him!"

"Shhh, Dobby, not now," said Harry. "We'll explain everything in a minute. Can you Apparate us to the third floor?"

"Yes, Harry Potter," Dobby squeaked.

Harry grabbed Dobby with his right hand and Ginny with his left. Dobby snapped his fingers and the next thing Harry knew, the three of them were standing next to the statue of the one-eyed witch. He tapped it with his wand and muttered " _Dissendium_ ", and the secret passage opened. Harry picked Dobby up and pushed him through, then helped Ginny through before sliding in himself.

"Where are we, sir?" said Dobby.

"Secret passage out of Hogwarts," said Harry. "We need to get outside the grounds so we can Disapparate to where we've been hiding."

The three of them began the long walk back to Hogsmeade. It was even slower than their first walk: Dobby, being only about three feet tall, couldn't walk nearly as fast as Harry and Ginny. "Where has Harry Potter been this year? Dobby knows that He-Who-Must-Be-Named has been looking for him."

"We've been hiding, Dobby," said Ginny. "We'll explain more when we get out of here."

By the time they neared the trap door under Honeydukes, it was nearly midday. Harry felt uneasy about trying to sneak out of the shop at this time of day, when there was bound to be more foot traffic, especially given their narrow escape earlier. He turned to Ginny and said, "D'you reckon we should wait awhile?"

"I think we can Disapparate from here, Harry," whispered Ginny. "We must be past the front gate by now."

"Okay. Dobby, do you still want to come with us?" said Harry

"Oh yes, sir, Dobby would like that very much."

As he prepared to leave, Harry suddenly noticed that Dobby was not wearing his usual assortment of odd clothes, but instead a tea towel bearing the Hogwarts crest, like all the other house-elves. "Dobby, what happened to all your clothes?"

Dobby frowned. "Dobby still has them, sir. But the new professors don't like Dobby's clothes, and Dobby doesn't want to get sacked, he likes working at Hogwarts very much, so Dobby decided that wearing this is okay for now, sir."

Harry frowned. "But you haven't been punishing yourself! Isn't ignoring your work to sneak off the grounds with us a violation of your contract?"

Dobby grinned a bit uneasily. "Yes, I'm not supposed to leave the grounds without permission except on my off days. But, since Professor Snape has become headmaster, he's neglected paying Dobby, so… I think this is fair, sir."

Harry grinned. "I agree, Dobby. Now come on, let's go."

Harry grabbed Dobby and Ginny and Disapparated to their tent in the woods. As soon as Dobby entered, he marveled at the amount of laundry and dirt that Harry and Ginny had been neglecting to clean over the past several days. Harry was tempted to let him help, but knew that they couldn't waste any more time.

"Dobby, we were wondering if you could tell us about… where the Malfoys live."

Dobby's suddenly looked anxious. "Why does Harry Potter want to know about my old Master's house?"

Harry looked over at Ginny, wondering how much he should reveal. Ginny said, "We need to go there, Dobby. There's something that we need to do. Whatever you could tell us, it would be really helpful."

"Well, Dobby supposes he can tell you whatever he likes now," Dobby squeaked. "Dobby owes no more loyalty to his former Masters, Miss, none at all."

"Great," said Harry, grinning again. "First, of all… where is it?"

"Dobby's old masters live in a big house in Wiltshire, sir. At least, they used to, when Dobby was working there."

"Do you think we'd be able to sneak in there?" said Ginny eagerly.

Dobby frowned. "I'm not sure, Miss. Dobby's former Masters put many protections on their house that keeps people out. Wizards can only get inside the front gate if they is with one of my Masters."

"What are we going to do?" Ginny muttered to Harry. Harry closed his eyes, trying to remember the details of his dream. Voldemort had been there, Ron was there, so was Bellatrix, in the room with portraits of old Malfoy family members. Voldemort had asked for Lucius to fetch Hermione.

"Dobby, is there somewhere in the house where someone could be held… like, imprisoned?"

Dobby closed his eyes. "There is a place… Dobby knows… where he thinks his Masters could hide someone. Their cellar, sir… they never go in there, Dobby used to use it to hide when his Master was in one of his bad moods."

Dobby suddenly grabbed _The Secret History of the Dark Lord_ off an end table and started hitting himself across the forehead. Harry, who had been expecting this, lunged to grab the book from the elf and throw it onto his bed on the other side of the tent.

"Dobby, I forbid you to punish yourself. Do you think you could take us there, to the cellar?"

Dobby looked up at Harry with a toothy grin. "Thank you, Harry Potter, sir," he squeaked. "Yes, Dobby can take you and Miss Wheezy there, if you likes, sir."

"Brilliant, Dobby. We need to go straight away," said Harry. "Just to warn you, it isn't just the Malfoys there anymore. There are bound to be more Death Eaters there, maybe even You-Know-Who."

Dobby shuddered, but said, "Harry Potter, Dobby is used to seeing lots of… bad Dark wizards… at his former Masters' house. And at Hogwarts now, too, sir," he added sadly.

Harry looked at Ginny again. "Are you ready?" She didn't say anything, but nodded, looking nervous, yet determined. "Okay Dobby, let's do it."

Dobby grabbed Harry and Ginny and Disapparated again. The next thing Harry knew, he was standing in almost total darkness, on a hard, cold floor. He pulled out his wand and whispered, " _Lumos!_ " but nothing happened. As he squinted through the darkness, trying to gain his bearings, he muttered, "Dobby, is there any way to get some light in here?"

But before Dobby could answer, a familiar voice whispered from close by.

"Harry! Harry, is that you?"


	25. Chapter 25: A Messy Rescue

"Luna!"

Harry reached his arms out in the darkness, trying to find the source of the voice. After a moment, he heard a thud, followed by Ginny's voice whispering, "Harry, over here!"

"Shhhh!" said Luna. "The Death Eaters will hear… Ron, click the lights on!"

After a moment, a ball of light zoomed out from Harry's left and floated in the air, illuminating the room. They were standing in a small, dungeon-like room with no windows and a dirty stone floor. Ginny had apparently walked right into Luna, who looked pale and malnourished but otherwise unharmed. A few feet behind them, the old wandmaker Mr. Ollivander lay on the floor, even whiter than Luna and shivering uncontrollably. Dobby, meanwhile, had rushed in the other direction to where Ron was sitting against the opposite wall.

Ron looked quite a bit worse for wear than he had during Harry's dream a few days earlier. His clothes were blood-soaked and torn is several places, revealing deep cuts on his legs, torso, and right hand, which was now holding the Deluminator. His face was covered in scars, there was a burn on his left cheek, and he had a fat upper lip, which was tinged slightly green. But Harry's attention was drawn to Ron's eyes, which were swollen completely shut. When Dobby reached Ron he jumped, clearly unable to see anyone approaching. Dobby whispered, "Don't worry, sir, Dobby has come to rescue you!"

"Merlin's beard Ron, are you all right?" said Harry.

"I'll be fine," whispered Ron slowly. Apparently even the effort of speaking was causing him pain. "Can't see though, got hit by a Conjunctivitis Curse."

"Ron, where's Hermione?" said Ginny urgently.

"We don't know," said Luna. "We haven't seen her since this morning…"

Harry tried desperately to suppress the panic building inside him. "Okay, well… we need to get you lot out of here before someone finds out we're here. Mr. Ollivander, are you well enough to travel?"

"More than willing to chance it," said Mr. Ollivander in a faint whisper.

Before Harry could speak again, however, he heard the sound of a door bursting open and hurried footsteps rushing down the steps. Harry and Ginny jumped and hid behind two large stone columns a few feet from each other. When the footsteps reached the bottom of the staircase, a drawling voice echoed in the small room.

"What's with all the noise, Lovegood?" said Draco Malfoy.

Harry made a split-second decision. He jumped out from behind the pillar with his wand outstretched and cried, " _Petrificus Totalus!_ "

Malfoy's body stiffened like a board and fell to the stone floor. His eyes glared fearfully at Harry as he lowered his wand. Ginny rushed over to Malfoy, seized the wand from his hand, and threw it to Harry. "Don't see any need for Draco to keep this," she whispered with a smirk.

But Harry did not laugh, he now was trying to decide what their next move was. If he released Malfoy from the Body-Bind Curse, he might yell for help, giving away Harry and Ginny's position. But Malfoy also probably knew where Hermione was right now, and Harry could not help but remember Malfoy lowering his wand on the Astronomy Tower the night Snape killed Dumbledore.

" _Ennervate!_ " Harry whispered, pointing his wand at Malfoy, followed immediately by " _Silencio!_ "

Malfoy made as if to stand up, but stopped cold when Harry again pointed his wand at him threateningly. After a moment, Harry whispered, "I won't curse you again if you answer our questions."

Malfoy nodded vigorously.

"Where's Hermione?" said Ginny quickly.

Malfoy turned around and pointed up the stairs.

"She's still here?" said Harry excitedly.

Malfoy nodded again.

"Is she still alive?" said Ron nervously.

Malfoy nodded yet again, then motioned upstairs again urgently. Harry sighed in relief, then turned to Ron and whispered "yes."

"Why are you home?" said Ginny. "Why aren't you at Hogwarts?"

Malfoy pulled up his left sleeve and pointed at a red scar in the shape of a skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth: the Dark Mark. Harry looked at Ginny. He knew that if Malfoy was discovered down here by Voldemort with the others missing, Voldemort would probably kill him in retaliation. He turned around and addressed Malfoy again in a low voice, "Who knows that you're down here?"

Malfoy shook his head and pointed repeatedly at himself. Relieved, Harry said, "Alright, Dobby, take Ron, Luna, and Mr. Ollivander back to the tent, then come back here," said Harry quickly. "Luna, do you know who all is upstairs?"

"The only person who I've seen lately has been Draco," said Luna.

"Alright, Dobby, hurry!"

Ginny and Luna helped drag Mr. Ollivander over to where Dobby was standing with Ron. Harry kept his wand fixed on Malfoy, but he didn't move. Once the others were all together, Dobby snapped his finger again and he, Ron, Luna, and Mr. Ollivander disappeared with a loud _crack_. Then Harry turned around and pointed his wand at Malfoy, muttering " _Obliviate._ "

Malfoy's eyes glazed over and a small smile grew over his face. Satisfied, Harry took Ginny's hand and rushed her up the stone staircase. The two of them were soon standing in a long, shadowy corridor. At the end of the corridor, a wooden door stood slightly ajar, and a sliver of light poured in from the room ahead. Harry and Ginny tiptoed breathlessly toward it, listening desperately for any sign of Hermione. Finally, they heard a horrible, rasping voice whispering, "I'm sure the Dark Lord won't mind that I added to your punishment…"

Harry reached the door first and had to suppress a scream of rage. Hermione was hanging upside-down from a drawing room ceiling, suspended only by her ankle. She was wearing the shirt she had been wearing when she had been captured by Voldemort, but it had fallen partially over her face, exposing her midriff. Her side facing Harry now contained several deep, bloody gashes. The visible part of her face looked mostly unharmed, although it was extremely pale. And her eyes were closed; it appeared that she had fainted.

Beneath her stood the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, who had his back turned to Harry and Ginny. His wand lay on the floor and blood was dripping from his face. After a few seconds, he started forward toward Hermione again. Harry could no longer stand it: he burst into the room, slashed his wand wildly and shouted " _Sectumsempra!_ "

Greyback fell to the floor, a long cut tearing through his Death Eater robes and opening in his lower back. Ginny rushed in after Harry, yelled " _Liberacorpus!_ " and clumsily caught Hermione's unconscious body before it hit the floor. Harry grabbed Greyback's wand, looked around to make sure no one else was in the room before he turned back to the werewolf and bellowed, " _Stupefy!_ "

The wolf fell to the floor, unconscious. Harry rushed over to Ginny, who was now pressing her hands against Hermione's side to stop the bleeding.

"Where's Dobby?" said Harry urgently. "We need to get out of here before someone else…"

" _Expelliarmus!_ " cried a squeaky voice.

Harry's and Ginny's wands zoomed out of their hands and across the room. Harry wrenched his neck for the source of the spell and saw Peter Pettigrew, now holding three wands in a glistening silver hand, pointing all of them directly at Harry.

"Harry Potter!" said Wormtail. "How can this be?"

Harry said nothing, dread rushing over him. Wormtail continued, "The Dark Lord will reward me beyond all his other servants now that I've handed over the last of the Potters!"

Wormtail held out his left arm and pulled up his sleeve, revealing his own version of the Dark Mark. Wormtail reached out his forefinger and was about to press it against the scar when Harry finally hissed, "You're going to hand me over again, after I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!"

For the slightest second, Wormtail hesitated. Then, suddenly the silvery hand dropped the three wands and turned directly toward his own throat. Harry and Ginny watched, horrified, as Wormtail was being strangled before their very eyes. Harry rushed to try and pull the hand away, but it was no use. Ginny picked up her wand and pointed it at Wormtail, shouting " _Relashio!_ " But that too was fruitless. Pettigrew turned blue, and Harry and Ginny watched helplessly for a few moments as he struggled for freedom before he finally fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Harry Potter sir, we really must get going…"

Harry jumped. He'd almost completely forgotten about Dobby. Harry looked back at Ginny, who had turned white but looked relieved, and Hermione, who was still unconscious. The elf took Harry's hand and hurried over to the two girls. Harry helped Ginny lift Hermione before Dobby snapped his fingers again and they Disapparated.


	26. Chapter 26: New Fears

The next few days were a bit of a whirlwind for Harry and Ginny. Their delight at finally having rescued Ron and Hermione was mixed with concern over whether everyone would make a full recovery. And now that they were joined in the tent by five newcomers, Harry and Ginny's supply of food was insufficient to account for everyone. This meant much more time scavenging for food for Harry, while Ginny (and Dobby, who was in the best condition and was delighted to help out) tended to the others.

Mr. Ollivander and Luna had both been imprisoned at Malfoy Manor longer than Ron and Hermione, and were very weak in the days following their rescue. Mr. Ollivander in particular spent most of the time sleeping, having been a captive of Lord Voldemort for many months, and Harry was concerned that he might need more extensive treatment than Ginny was capable of providing. Slowly, however, he seemed to be gaining strength. Luna told Harry that she had been taken from Hogwarts one morning by the two new Hogwarts professors, Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow. She suspected that it was retribution for the work of her father, whose recent editions of _The Quibbler_ were very critical of the new Death Eater regime. After a few days of rest and food, however, she recovered, and spent her time helping Harry search for food.

Ginny liberally applied what Dittany they still had on Ron's many wounds, with limited effectiveness. It seemed that some of his injuries had been caused by curses, which were unhealable. Harry eventually resigned himself to the fact that Ron, like his brother Bill, would probably be scarred for the rest of his life. Ginny was also unable to restore Ron's eyesight: she discovered in one of Hermione's textbooks that the only cure for the effects of a Conjunctivitis Curse was the Oculus Potion, which required stewed Mandrake and ground Unicorn horn to brew. Everyone decided that it was best not to rush back out into the Wizarding world again so soon after their narrow escape from Malfoy Manor. Ron seemed perfectly unperturbed by these troubles, and was quite as upbeat and helpful to Harry and Ginny as his condition would allow.

However, Ron did seem particularly concerned about Hermione. She did not regain consciousness for over a day after their return, and seemed to have lost quite a bit of blood from Greyback's attack. Everyone was concerned that Hermione might have become a werewolf: while Greyback hadn't been transformed at the time Harry had attacked him, they didn't know whether this was the first time she had been attacked. Even Hermione herself seemed to have little recollection of the time she had spent in captivity, and was quick to change the subject whenever it was brought up. She also had some older cuts and bruises on her back and shoulders, and Ron and Luna mentioned worriedly that she had returned to their dungeon bloody and unconscious on previous occasions.

About a week after their return, the full moon was due to come, so Ginny, Dobby, and Luna evacuated Ron and Mr. Ollivander for the night while Harry stayed behind to watch over Hermione. By this time, Hermione's strength and energy had returned to normal, but she still wasn't acting like herself. She had awoken the tent more than once screaming in her sleep, and while Hermione tried to dismiss their concerns afterward, Harry suspected that she was having nightmares about the torture she had endured at the hands of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Additionally, she seemed very apprehensive whenever she had to leave the tent and go outside, and was always the first to reenter once it was reassembled after they arrived at a new campsite. Harry had been reluctant to ask her about everything for fear of distressing her further, but now that they were alone together he decided to speak up.

"Hermione… how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she replied quickly, but she didn't look it. She was fidgeting in her chair, and had spent the past hour looking back and forth from her watch to the tent's opening, where twilight was visible from the hill they were camping on.

"That's good," said Harry slowly. "I've been wondering, you know, what exactly happened the night that You-Know-Who… the night you followed us to Godric's Hollow."

"Oh, well, it was stupid," said Hermione. "I was just sitting and reading _The Secret History of the Dark Lord_ when I got Ginny's Patronus, and left straightaway. It took me awhile to find Bathilda's house though… I only figured out which it was when I heard shouting and banging coming from her cottage. I ran inside and at first it was quiet before I saw… him."

Harry sat awkwardly across from her as she started to cry quietly. After a few moments she looked up again. "Harry, how did you know where to find us? I was so worried that we'd be stuck in that awful place forever…"

"I saw him take you," said Harry simply.

"You _saw_ …"

"Well, not literally…" said Harry hesitantly.

"Harry, you're supposed to close your mind!" Hermione retorted, with a flash of her usual bossiness.

Harry smiled. "Are you really going to get on me for that again? _Really_? After it helped me save your life?"

"No, I suppose not," said Hermione, failing to conceal a small smile. "But how did you find out _where_ he took me?"

"I didn't at first," Harry admitted. "But then I had another dream and I saw You-Know-Who torturing… er, questioning Ron, and I sort of put two and two together," he finished lamely.

Hermione looked like she wanted to tell Harry off again, but didn't say anything. She instead jerked her head back out of the tent toward the sky, looking for the moon.

"Stop doing that, Hermione, you're just tormenting yourself," said Harry.

"I can't help it," said Hermione. "I'm such an idiot, I can't believe I didn't ask Lupin more about what it's like to transform…"

"I'm sure he'd rather not talk about it," Harry said with a grin. "Plus, I don't think you're a werewolf," he added, with an air of confidence he did not feel.

"Really?" she said quickly.

"Yeah," said Harry, "I dunno… Lupin always used to miss classes before and after the full moon, remember? He must've been feeling lousy… and you haven't seemed to be feeling any worse the last couple of days, have you?"

"No," said Hermione thoughtfully, "at least, no worse than usual… Sorry I haven't been much of a help around here, I know you and Ginny haven't been sleeping much…"

"Don't worry about it," said Harry gruffly. "Thank Merlin that Dobby has been here with us, he loves doing all this work."

"Why is he still here?" Hermione murmured. "I mean, he's been a huge help, but why hasn't he gone back to Hogwarts? Won't they miss him?"

"He doesn't seem to be in a rush to go back, to be honest," Harry muttered, walking to the kitchen to grab more of the berries they'd had for dinner. "I guess Snape hasn't been paying him."

To Harry's surprise, Hermione laughed, the first time she had done so since their return. "No, I suppose he wouldn't… You know, once this war is over, I'll have to ask Dobby to help me restart S.P.E.W. …"

Harry rolled his eyes behind her back as she started to drone on about elf rights. However, he was just glad that this seemed to have gotten Hermione's mind off of her predicament for a while. Harry was also trying to sneak peeks at the sky without her noticing, looking for the moon: the sun had since set, revealing a starry sky on this cloudless night, but there was no sign of the moon yet from Harry's vantage point.

When Harry sat back down, the two of them sat in silence for quite a while. Harry's mind had wandered to Ginny, who had taken the others to the other side of the hill in case Hermione transformed. She had been incredibly overworked over the past several days, helping Harry take care of the others, but the gratitude Harry felt for her stretched back even further. She had gone with him to Godric's Hollow, helped him with his guilt over Hermione and Ron's capture, destroyed the locket…

"The locket!" he shouted suddenly, causing Hermione to jump. "Ginny destroyed it! I can't believe I forgot to tell you!"

" _What?_ " she said excitedly.

Harry proceeded to tell her everything that had happened the night they'd found the sword of Gryffindor. Hermione looked curious and engaged again for the first time in weeks.

"So you have no idea who cast the Patronus?" she said interestedly.

"No," said Harry. "I'm not even sure it _was_ a Patronus, to be honest. But whoever it was, they really saved us, I'd been thinking that the sword was at Gringotts ever since we heard about what happened with Mundungus…"

"So was I. Phineas as good as told us Snape hid something there," said Hermione. "What d'you reckon it is, Harry?"

"I dunno," Harry muttered. "Must be important though, if Snape is that worried about it."

The two of them went silent again. Harry could almost hear Hermione's mind whirring in thought, considering what could possibly be hidden in the bowels of the great Wizarding bank. Harry glanced again outside when he finally saw it: the full moon gleaming overhead in the dark sky.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted again. "The moon is up!"

Hermione stood up suddenly and rushed outside, looking at the great white sphere hovering in the heavens. After a moment she turned and looked at Harry, her eyes wet as she smiled in relief. Harry walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm sorry for everything…"

"It's okay, Hermione. Everything's gonna be fine now," he whispered to her. "Come on, let's get back inside and we can tell the others the good news."


	27. Chapter 27: Returning Luna

Everyone's spirits improved considerably upon hearing that Hermione had not been turned into a werewolf. It seemed that she, like Bill, was merely the victim of cursed wounds that would never fully heal. Harry noticed that she, like Bill, had acquired a liking for rare meat. She also seemed to have developed a bit of sensitivity to light, so if the others were outside for a lengthy amount of time, she would duck back into the tent and take short breaks. Her nightmares also seemed to slowly become less frequent. When they did occur, Ron always made it a point to comfort her, which he was remarkably adept at doing despite the loss of his eyesight.

Ron was even more delighted than Hermione to hear that the locket was gone. He apologized to Harry for his angry departure so often over the next few days that Harry almost tired of hearing it. But Ron's story also cleared up some things that Harry had been wondering about.

"I think that locket really screwed with my head, Harry, I felt bad about leaving immediately after I took it off."

"Don't mention it, Ron," said Harry for at least the fourth time. "It affected all of us."

"Still, though, you're my best mate, I shouldn't have blamed you for everything like that," said Ron apologetically. "I dunno what I was thinking."

"Where did you go?" said Harry quickly, eager to change the subject.

"I didn't get far," said Ron bitterly. "I Apparated back to the Burrow, but it wasn't ten seconds before I had Snatchers on me."

"You're kidding!" Harry shouted, making Mr. Ollivander jump.

"Yeah," said Ron. "I managed to fight two of them off, but a third one Stunned me just when I'd let my guard down. I guess the Death Eaters told them to watch the Burrow in case one of us turned up. I should've realized… Mum and Dad always told us that if anything happened, they'd hide out at Shell Cottage rather than at home, since the Ministry doesn't know about it."

"Shell Cottage?" said Harry confusedly.

"It's Muriel's old place," said Ron, "Bill and Fleur were planning on moving there after the wedding. It's in Tinworth, just off the beach, but I doubt that we'd be able to find it now even if we tried. Dad or Bill will have used the Fidelius Charm."

"What happened after you got Stunned?" said Harry.

"Well, at first they took me to the Ministry, because they thought I was Muggle-born. But when I got there some Ministry bloke recognized me from the _Daily Prophet_ posters, so they took me straight to the Malfoys, and that's when I met Ollivander. Luna came too, not long after I did, and then Hermione… that's when I started to lose hope."

"You and me both," Harry admitted.

"Yeah, I probably got interrogated the most at first, but other than where you'd been camping the day I left, there wasn't much that I knew. You-Know-Who wasn't much interested in me after that. I only saw him once or twice actually, he's been abroad, I overheard Bellatrix and Malfoy's mum talking about it."

Harry spent a ton of time thinking of what Voldemort could possibly be doing out of the country, but none of his or anyone else's guesses seemed very likely to be accurate. About ten days later, when Luna felt well enough to travel again, Harry felt that it was time to return her to her father. Ron had to stay behind, since he still could not see, and Hermione decided to stay with him, explaining to Harry that she still felt weak. Harry wasn't entirely sure that he believed her; however, with Dobby and Mr. Ollivander still around, there was a limit to what they could do anyway. Ron and Hermione waved from the mouth of the tent as Harry, Ginny, and Luna huddled together to Apparate to Luna's home.

The next thing Harry knew, he was standing outside a large, black, cylindrical house, surrounded by a wide variety of odd plants. Luna rushed to the door and knocked loudly, yelling, "Daddy, Daddy I'm home!"

Immediately hurried footsteps were audible from behind the thick black door, and a moment later it burst open. Luna flung herself into the arms of the unusual looking man Harry had met at Bill and Fleur's wedding.

"Oh thank goodness, Luna, how can this be?" said Xenophilius Lovegood, with tears running down his cheeks. "I've been… so worried."

Eventually the two of them broke apart, and Luna straightened up and turned back to her friends. "Daddy, I don't know if you remember, but this is Ginny Weasley, and this is Harry Potter. They rescued me from the Death Eaters."

An odd expression flashed across Xenophilius's face for a moment, one that looked almost remorseful, but soon it was gone and replaced with a warm smile as he whispered, "Thank you both… yes, thank you, for dropping her off."

Luna smiled and said, "come in, Harry, Ginny. I'll make you a cup of tea."

Xenophilius did not look at all pleased with this suggestion, but reluctantly motioned forward with his arm, and when they were all inside he quickly shut the door behind them. He peered out the window anxiously before closing the curtains tightly and sitting at the rickety wooden table against the wall. Harry and Ginny sat down too, feeling slightly awkward, and looked around the odd room. Everything was slightly curved to fit against the circular walls, and there was an assortment of odd objects and devices scattered everywhere. Harry's eyes, however, were drawn to a copy of _The Quibbler_ that was sitting on the table in front of him. He had noticed it because his own face was staring back at him, underneath a caption which stated: "Undesirable Number One."

"What is that?" Harry said angrily.

Xenophilius quickly tried to cover up the magazine, but Luna grabbed it from him.

"Daddy! How could you?"

Xenophilius seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Once Ginny saw the magazine, she joined Luna in rebuking her father. Harry was almost as shocked as he was angry. _The Quibbler_ , after all, had always been the only publication that consistently supported him since You-Know-Who's return.

"Come on, Harry, let's get out of here," said Ginny furiously after another minute.

"Please, try and understand," said Xenophilius desperately as the two of them stood to leave, "they took her, they took my Luna because of what I'd been writing. What choice did I have?"

"So you sold them out?" said Luna furiously.

Ginny said nothing, but with another angry look at Xenophilius, stormed out the front door. Harry made to follow her when he saw something laying on the wooden counter: the necklace Xenophilius had been wearing at Bill and Fleur's wedding, in the shape of the symbol in Hermione's book.

"Er… Mr. Lovegood, can you tell me about that necklace?"

Xenophilius looked quickly from Harry to the necklace, seemingly ecstatic at the sudden change of subject. "Of course, my dear boy… that's the symbol of the Deathly Hallows."


	28. Chapter 28: The Way Ahead

Harry was brimming with excitement as he and Ginny waved goodbye to Luna and her father, all anger and resentment forgotten. _The Master of Death_. Were the Deathly Hallows the answer, finally, to the question of how he could possibly defeat Voldemort? The unbeatable wand! The Resurrection Stone, which could recall the dead, so he could talk to Dumbledore again, to Sirius, to his parents! And the Cloak of Invisibility, which sounded strangely familiar, although he hadn't said so to Xenophilius. The more Harry thought about it, the more convinced he was that this, finally, was the answer. This was the part of the plan that Dumbledore had never mentioned to him, but had left hints for Harry to figure out on his own. He had drawn the symbol of the Hallows in _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_ ,after all. Why else would he have given Hermione a book of fairy tales? And the Cloak! Why else had Dumbledore taken it from James when, as Dumbledore had told Harry himself, he did not need it to become invisible? He must have suspected it was the Cloak from the legend!

It all seemed to be coming together in Harry's mind as he and Ginny arrived back at their campsite. He burst back into the tent and launched into the story as soon as he found Ron and Hermione.

"It all fits!" said Harry finally, looking from Ron to Hermione triumphantly.

Ginny was beaming in delight, relieved that they finally seemed to be making progress after so many setbacks. Ron too looked ecstatic, and said, "bloody hell, that's brilliant mate!"

Hermione, however, was looking at Harry oddly, partly in concern and partly in amusement. "Harry… this is silly. I mean, honestly, an _unbeatable_ wand? You can't honestly believe this rubbish that Mr. Lovegood told you!"

"The Dark Lord does," whispered Mr. Ollivander, to everyone's astonishment. Harry gaped at him; he had completely forgotten that Mr. Ollivander was in the room.

"How do you know?" said Harry eagerly, although he thought he already knew the answer.

The old wandmaker looked troubled, as if he regretted speaking up at all. "He… asked me to help him find it, the Elder Wand. He has been troubled by the fact that Mr. Potter has repeatedly gotten the better of him. I told him about the twin cores, and he has been seeking a solution ever since. I did not want to help, but I had no choice, he tortured me! All I told him was that…"

"That Gregorovitch had it," Harry finished for him.

Mr. Ollivander looked flabbergasted. "How did you know…"

"Never mind," said Harry impatiently. "You told him Gregorovitch had the wand, and he went and questioned Gregorovitch, and learned about the thief. He's been looking for him ever since. That's why he's been abroad, Ron!"

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny said nothing, still trying to comprehend the enormity of what they were hearing. Harry too was thinking hard, his mind spinning from all of their unexpected breakthroughs. Dumbledore wanted Harry to unite the Hallows. They already had the Cloak, but what about the others? Perhaps Dumbledore knew what had become of them!

"Where's Dobby?" said Harry suddenly, looking at Hermione.

"I… I believe he went to get us food for tonight," she said slowly.

"Why do you ask?" said Ron.

But Harry did not answer, instead he flew to Hermione's beaded bag, opened it, and cried " _Accio Map!"_ The Marauder's Map flew into Harry's outstretched hand, and Harry unfurled it, tapped his wand, and muttered, " _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good._ "

The map of Hogwarts materialized before him. Harry's eyes immediately darted for the headmaster's office, and he was delighted to see that it was empty.

"Harry," said Ginny slowly, "what's going on?"

"I need to speak to Dumbledore," said Harry simply.

" _What_?" said Ron, Hermione, and Ginny simultaneously.

"His portrait, I mean," said Harry quickly. "I need to find this wand before You-Know-Who does! Dumbledore must know where it is!"

"I'm sorry Harry, but this is utter rubbish!" said Hermione loudly. "You know who Xenophilius Lovegood is, you've read _The Quibbler_ , isn't it possible that this is just another one of his fairytales?"

"Hermione, you heard Mr. Ollivander," said Ron. "The only question now is how do we get there?"

" _We_?" said Hermione, almost laughing. "You can't see, Ron! Even if all of this is true, we can't just run off to Hogwarts, it's much too dangerous!"

Harry turned his attention to Ginny. She looked like she was thinking very hard, before finally saying, "Harry… I think Hermione's right. We should wait, form a real plan…"

Harry looked at her in shock; he had never known Ginny to propose a cautious course when action could be taken. But Ginny looked back at him with a gaze that showed she was confident in her decision. Harry considered her for a moment, before saying, "What kind of plan do you have in mind?"

The next several hours were spent planning yet another infiltration of Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny wanted to head out the next day, but Hermione eventually convinced them that their best chance at getting into the headmaster's office without anyone interrupting was the Easter holiday, which was a couple of weeks away. Dobby would Apparate Harry, Ginny, and Hermione to Hogwarts. There they would use the Invisibility Cloak to sit in the gargoyle's corridor, until they overheard someone use the password. Then, they would watch the headmaster's office on the Marauder's Map until it was empty, at which point they could sneak inside so Harry could speak to the portrait of Albus Dumbledore. Hermione had lost her wand when she was captured by Voldemort, but since Harry and Ginny had managed to steal wands from Draco, Wormtail, and Greyback at Malfoy Manor, she spent the next several days practicing with each of them. She eventually decided that she liked Wormtail's the best. Ron, meanwhile, got Draco's, and Mr. Ollivander got Greyback's.

In the meantime, everyone's spirits had definitely been raised by the sudden surge in progress. Ginny and Hermione returned one day from exploring a Muggle village chatting and giggling with each other like they hadn't done in months. Although Harry and Ron hadn't seen it, they both quietly agreed that the girls must have finally gotten over their row. Dobby's presence in the tent, especially his superb cooking, made everyone feel more at home than they had at any time since leaving The Burrow. Meanwhile, Mr. Ollivander's strength continued to improve steadily as a result of Dobby's care. One spring morning, he surprised the others by announcing that he was leaving.

"I will be forever grateful to all of you for rescuing me, and for nursing me back to health," he said as he put on his cloak and shook each of their hands.

"But where will you go?" said Hermione sadly.

"Abroad," said Mr. Ollivander. "As much as I'd love to help you all, I don't think I'm strong enough to fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Plus, I don't much fancy running into him again, to be honest," he said with a small grin.

"Good luck," said Harry.

"I'll miss you most of all," said Mr. Ollivander, turning to Dobby. "Without your care, there's a good chance I wouldn't be standing here. If things settle down, I could definitely use an elf's help getting my shop up and running again. For a wage, of course," he added with a wink.

"You are most kind, sir!" Dobby squeaked.

And with a final wave, Mr. Ollivander Disapparated.


End file.
